Pokemon HeartGold: Johto
by BlackSamurai-JJ
Summary: In this novelization of the Gold and Silver remakes, Ethan is a new trainer begining his journey throughout the Johto region.
1. Chapter 1

What it is, this is BlackSamurai-JJ with his second fanfic. I hope you guys enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or any of its characters. If I did, I would be rich and Ash and Dawn would be together in the anime.

_Chapter 1: The World of Pokémon_

In the land of Kanto, one day, a youth from Pallet Town was called to meet Professor Oak, a renowned Pokémon researcher.

When the youth arrived at Professor Oak's Pokémon Lab, a wonderful proposal awaited.

"There are three Pokémon here. . . You can have one. Go on, choose!"

So, the youth chose between Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle, picking the one that seem best. Then along came a rival – Professor Oak's grandson.

The Rival immediately challenged the youth to a Pokémon Battle. But the youth defeated him, showing great skill in doing so.

After seeing how well the youth and that Pokémon battled, Professor Oak knew he had found a great talent. The Professor then gave the youth an important mission.

That mission was to complete the Pokedex, a task that would require traveling through the entire Kanto region and catching all of the 151 kinds of Pokémon said to live there! With a heart of passion, the youth set out on the journey.

The youth had two goals in mind. The first was, of course, to complete the Pokedex. The other goal was to defeat Pokémon Gym Leaders throughout the Kanto region, triumph over the Pokémon League, and become the Pokémon League Champion!

The Road ahead would be long indeed. But the youth threw Poke Balls, caught Pokémon, and – along with new friends – began to make this dream a reality.

At the first Gym, the youth defeated the Pewter City Gym Leader – Brock.

Then, at the second Gym, the youth defeated the Cerulean Gym Leader – Misty.

And at the third Gym, the youth defeated the Vermillion Gym Leader – Lt. Surge.

Trusting in the strength of his Pokémon, the youth overcame each Gym Leader who stood in the way.

But before long, a dark presence cast its shadow across this journey.

That dark presence was Team Rocket – an evil organization that used Pokémon to do its dirty work as it plotted world domination.

Team Rocket had even done away with a Marowak in Lavender Town, leaving Trainers their heartbroken.

The youth, along with his Pokémon, decided to put a stop to Team Rocket's crime.

Team Rocket had opened a Game Corner in Celadon City to raise money, and the youth discovered the Rocket Hideout concealed in its basement.

Gathering courage, the youth snuck into the hideout. Team Rocket was no match for the youth, whose bravery was fueled by good intentions, and step by step the youth approached the heart of the hideout.

Deep inside the hideout, the youth faced off against Giovanni, the Team Rocket Boss. Giovanni's Pokémon were known for their overwhelming strength . . . but still the youth pushed the Pokémon's powers to the limit and defeated Team Rocket's wicked leader.

With Team Rocket defeated, the youth's glorious adventure resumed. Now the youth could do things like play the Poke Flute to wake a sleeping Snorlax or travel the Cycling Road on a Bicycle.

At the fourth Gym, the youth defeated the Celadon City Gym Leader – Erika.

At the fifth Gym, the youth defeated the Fuchsia City Gym Leader – Koga.

But the youth's string of victories was once again cut short by Team Rocket.

Team Rocket had taken over Saffron City and occupied Silph Co. (the Silph Company) right at its center.

Once again, the youth battled Giovanni, the Team Rocket Boss. By now, the youth had grown so much that Giovanni was no match for the youth's team.

This time, Giovanni admitted defeat and declared Team Rocket disbanded!

Now the youth was unstoppable, defeating Gyms left and right!

At the sixth Gym, the youth defeated the Saffron City Gym Leader – Sabrina.

At the seventh Gym, the youth defeated the Cinnabar Island Gym Leader – Blaine.

But on reaching the last Gym – the Viridian City Gym – the youth's heart skipped a beat.

The Gym Leader was none other than Giovanni, who planned to revive Team Rocket.

The youth's victory was never in doubt in the final showdown with Giovanni.

With a passion for justice and trust in Pokémon, the youth crushed Giovanni's villainous ambitions.

Eventually, after emerging from the long and arduous Victory Road, the youth reached the Pokémon League. At long last, it was time to fulfill that early dream.

The battles with the Elite Four were far from easy, and at time, the Pokémon League Champion nearly overwhelmed the youth.

But the youth believed in his Pokémon, and fought with determination.

And finally, victory was theirs!

**Now, three years later, another youth sets out for a new adventure in the mysterious region of Johto!**

There is the first chapter, so for those who read this, please review this and my other fanfic. I would like to know how I did. And in case you were wondering, no I will not start all of my fanfics with an intro like this. . . Ok maybe some but not all of them. Peace!


	2. Chapter 2

What it is, here is chapter two y'all with an actual story in it instead of a long intro. Sorry it took so long to post; I have been getting ready for school and I have just started school this week so it took a little bit longer to finish this chapter so enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or its characters, just the games that our sold.

"Character speaking"

'Character's thought'

**Reading something**

SHOUTING

_Flashback or Pokedex Entry_

_Chapter 2: Journey's Beginning_

This world that we live in is widely inhabited by creatures known as Pokémon. We humans live along side Pokémon as friends. At times we play together, and at other times we work together. Some people use their Pokémon to battle and develop closer bonds with them.

Nevertheless, there are still numerous mysteries surrounding them. In order to find out more about these creatures, many scientist have dedicated their lives to Pokémon research.

Our story takes setting in the Johto region; a land where it is not just modernized like its neighbor region, Kanto, but is still rooted to old traditions and its history. Many of its historical temples, shrines, palaces, gardens, and architectures have been preserved.

In the southeast corner of Johto is New Bark Town, the town where the winds of a new beginning blow and the home of Professor Elm – an authority on Pokémon Evolution.

But more importantly, it is also the home of our hero of this tale named . . .

"Ethan, are you still asleep up their?" said a middle-aged woman working in the kitchen. She has her dark hair in a loop on each side of her head while wearing an orange sun dress and an apron over it. Here we see our hero's mother busy with the housework, wondering what is taking her son so long to come down stairs.

"What is that boy doing?" she wonders. "Professor Elm said he had an errand for him"

Upstairs of the house we have a small bedroom with a clock on one wall, a television in the right corner with a Nintendo Wii on its right, a desk with a PC on it, and a bed in the back corner of the room. And on this bed is our hero Ethan, laying down, and fast asleep.

He wears a black T-shirt with black shorts and his black/bluish hair is short and wild like it hasn't been combed. Ethan continues lay on the bed with a little drool dripping down is mouth and a peaceful look on his face, until . . .

"ETHAN, WAKE UP!" his mother yells while banging on the door.

At the sound of this, Ethan immediately wakes up and falls off the bed. As he collects his thoughts he replies "What is it Mom?" with a hint of drowsiness in his voice.

"Did you forget what you are doing today?" his mother answers.

'What I'm doing today, what does she mean?' Ethan ponders as he sits on the floor Indian-style. He looks to the wall with his clock reading 12:45 PM and it suddenly hits him like a ton of bricks.

"Oh snap!" he finally speaks. "Professor Elm, I almost forgot."

Literally leaping off the floor, Ethan scurries around his room gathering his stuff.

From his closet he grabs and puts on his red jacket with a white collar and black cuffs zipping it all the way up, from under his bed he gets and slips on his red and white tennis shoes, and to complete his outfit he puts on his favorite black and yellow hat wearing it backwards with a tiff of his hair showing in the front.

"Alright" he says to himself. "I'm all ready to go." As soon as he spoke those words he rushed out the room and down the stairs. He then suddenly runs back up the stairs back into his room and grabs a black and gray bag hanging on his chair.

"Silly me." He says out loud. "I forgot my bag." With his bag on his back he once again goes back down the stairs.

Still in the kitchen, Ethan's mom is fixing a pot of tea when she spots her son rushing down the steps.

"I see that you are finally awake honey." She giggles.

"Eh heh heh" Ethan replies with his hand behind his head. "Sorry about that Mom."

His mom then remembers "Oh that's right! Your friend Lyra was just here"

"She was?" Ethan shockingly asked. "Well why didn't you tell me?" His mom then gave him a look that said "you know why" and he suddenly remembers what had happened before he came down stairs.

"Oh right." He answered embarrassed. "Sorry again."

His mom just shakes her head at him. "Well anyway, remember, Professor Elm wants to see you today." She tells him. "He said that he has a favor to ask of you."

Ethan replies "I know mom, I'm on my way to the lab to see him right now." He then rushes out the front door toward his destination. "See ya mom" was the last thing he said before he was gone.

"Bye sweetie" she tells her son as he's leaving.

As Ethan steps outside he feels a light breeze blow by him and looks around his home town. New Bark Town is unlike all the other cities in the Johto region; there are no giant buildings or things like a Gym or Pokémon Center. In fact it is sort of isolated from the rest of Johto. But this did not bother Ethan at all; he loved his town all the same. The sight of the rolling green hills, the cool feeling of the blowing wind, and all surrounded by tall serene trees. All of this made him feel relaxed and at peace.

He is suddenly interrupted by the sight of something small. Coming towards him was a small blue mouse-like creature. It had a sphere-like body with a white belly, two small round ears, and a black wiry tail with a blue bubble at the end.

"Marill!" the Aqua Mouse Pokémon squealed as it jumped into Ethan arms.

"Hello there Marill." Ethan greeted giving the Pokémon a small hug. "If you're here, then she can't be too far right?" Marill just replied to him with a nod.

"There you are Marill!" Said a girl the same age as Ethan but slightly taller running towards him. It turns out that the girl was not only Marill's owner but also Ethan's best friend Lyra. She was wearing a red long sleeved shirt with short blue overalls over it, black and white knee-high socks and red shoes, and a white hat with a red bow on the side. She had a yellow handbag on her left shoulder with a pink and white device attached to it. Her hair was golden-brown and two short ponytails on the side and curled up a little bit.

At the sight of her owner, Marill leaped down from Ethan's arms and jumped into the arms of Lyra instead.

"Looks like I found you Marill." Lyra says while hugging her Pokémon. She sees Ethan in front of her and greets him with a big smile on her face.

"Hey Ethan!"

Ethan smiles at his friend and replies "Hey Lyra, I see you and Marill are enjoying yourselves today as usual."

"Of course." Lyra exclaims while grinning like a cat and making a V sign with her right hand. "You know me very well, I guess that's why you and I are good friends." The

two of them giggle at her response and Ethan thought about what she said. The two of them had known each other since childhood so its wonder that they know each other very well.

"By the way," Lyra speaks with her hands on her hips and pouting. "I came by earlier to see you but apparently you were asleep." Ethan remembers what happened and what his mother told him about Lyra as a sweat drop falls down his head.

"Yeah I know, mom told me"

"Well I wanted to ask if you wanted to come out and play." Lyra asks with a playful look on her face. "Sorry, I have to go to Professor Elm's lab to help him with something."

"Awww." was her only reply as she had a face that made her look sad and yet cute at the same time. At the sight of such a cute sight, Ethan's cheeks were painted with a dash of red and turned his head away from Lyra.

"But," Ethan finally speaks. "If you want, you can come with me and when I'm done we can play."

"Really?" She exclaims as a she appears a few inches from Ethan's face with sparkles in her eyes. With Lyra that close to his face, his cheeks become redder as he can only nod his head as an answer.

"Yay!" Lyra exclaimed once again as she returns Marill to its Poke Ball and grabs Ethan's hand and starts running towards Professor Elm's lab. "Come on lets go!"

Ethan can only keep up with her as he is being pulled by Lyra. His blush once again becomes even redder as his hand is connected with Lyra's. The truth is that while the two were just friends, Ethan had always liked Lyra more than as a friend but he would never say it to anyone especially Lyra.

After a few minutes of running and being pulled, Lyra and Ethan finally made it to the lab. "We're here." Lyra speaks after the silent run. She turns to Ethan seeing him with his free hand on his knee trying to catch his breath which causes Lyra to realize that she had been dragging him the whole time.

"Oh my God Ethan, are you okay?" she asks while looking him over.

"I'm fine," Ethan says in short breaths. "I just . . . need to catch . . . my breath."

"I'm sorry," she apologizes with her head down. "I guess I got too excited again as usual." Lyra was always known to get excited and be real energetic at times.

"It's okay," Ethan replies finally catches his breath. "Besides it's that energetic personality that makes you . . . well you." Lyra looks up and smiles at the compliment.

"Thanks Ethan." She says to her friend as he makes his way toward her. "You're welcome, lets go see what the Professor wants." Ethan replies as he heads inside the lab with Lyra behind him.

The inside of the lab was huge filled with a couple of shelves full of books for research, a computer, a strange machine in the corner of the room and a capsule containing three Poke Balls. There was also a set of stairs that led to the second floor of the lab wear Professor Elm and his family lived.

As they walked inside, they saw one of the Professor's aides looking for a book. He saw the two given them a wave hello and went straight back to work. Ethan and Lyra made their way to the back of the room where they found the man they were looking for, Professor Elm. The Professor was a tall and sort of thin man; he was wearing a light blue dress shirt, green slacks, glasses, and a white lab coat that stopped past his waist. From the look of him, he looks like he been working for a while since he had a bunch of papers in his lab coat, his clothes were wrinkled and he was busy writing on a notepad not even noticing the two walking up to him.

"Hey Professor!" Both Ethan and Lyra shouted to get the man's attention. Professor Elm jumped a bit and looked around to see who called him to only spot the two.

"Oh hello Lyra," He responded while fixing his glasses then looks to Ethan. "And hello Ethan, I've been waiting for you."

"I know, sorry for making you wait." Ethan answers with a hand behind his head. "So what did you want me to do for you?"

"Right." Elm begins to explain. "Now do you know anything about my research?"

"Um yeah, Pokémon evolution right?" Ethan answers a little bit unsure.

"Yes, as you know Pokémon are carried in Poke Balls these days' rights?" He asks as the two friends nod their heads as an answer.

"But," Elm continues. "Before Poke Balls were created, people used to walk with Pokémon."

"Like Lyra?" Ethan interrupting looking at his friend.

"Exactly." Elm replies. "Poke Balls are great because you can carry many Pokémon. But walking with Pokémon must have its advantages."

"What kind of advantages?" Lyra asks with Ethan thinking the same.

"It could have something to do with how Pokémon grow or evolve," Elm answered. ". . . So I'm giving you, Ethan, a Pokémon!"

"Really?" Ethan answers while in a state of surprise. "My own Pokémon?"

"Yes." Elm once again explaining his plan. "I want you to walk beside this Pokémon, outside of its Poke Ball, to see if this brings any special feelings or bonds between Pokémon and people; can you do that?"

"Of course!" Ethan answered with glee. Lyra could tell from the look on his face that he was very happy at the thought of getting his own Pokémon.

After hearing the boy's response, Professor Elm went to the capsule containing three Poke Balls and picked each one up.

"You can choose from any of these three." Elm explained while opening the first Poke Ball contain a pale green creature with small green buds around its neck and a dark green leaf on its head.

"There's Chikorita, a Grass-type." He opens another Poke Ball releasing a blue and cream colored mouse with four red spots on his back.

"There's Cyndaquil, a Fire-type." Then Elm opens the last Poke Ball bringing out a small blue crocodile with red spines down its back and tail.

"And there's Totodile, a Water-type." Elm finishes explaining. "You can pick any one of these."

"Oh wow!" Lyra exclaims. "Totodile looks so cool and Chikorita and Cyndaquil are so cute." Ethan chuckled at his friend's response as he studies the three Pokémon trying to decide which one to pick.

"I think . . ." He finally speaks. "I will pick Cyndaquil."

"Quil!" The Fire Mouse Pokémon squealed in joy for being picked.

"I think it's a perfect choice for you." Elm told him as Cyndaquil jumped onto Ethan and sat on his head. Lyra giggled at the site of this and saw that it was cute. She then looks to see that Chikorita was looking sad and had a tiny tear drop on the edge of its eye.

Lyra, after seeing Chikorita was upset for not getting picked, picked her up and gave her a hug.

"Aw don't worry Chikorita," She said comforting the Leaf Pokémon. "I still think you're cute." Chikorita smiled at the comment and cheered up a bit. "Chika!" Its exclaimed to Lyra.

Professor Elm looked at the two as he was returning Totodile to its Poke Ball and came up with an idea. "Lyra if you want to you can keep Chikorita."

Lyra jerked her head towards Elm in shock. "Are you sure its okay Professor?"

"Of course," He told here. "It would help out my research even more and it seems that Chikorita is fond of you."

With a big smile on her face she responds, "I'll do it. You hear that Chikorita, looks like you get to stay with me."

"Chika Chika!" Chikorita responded just as happy as Lyra. Both Ethan and Lyra put down their new Pokémon and they start interacting with each other. The two of them and Professor Elm laughed at the two Pokémon seeing them having fun.

This is interrupted by a beeping sound from the computer. Elm goes up to it to see what it is. "Oh, hey! I got an email." He begins reading it becoming totally absorbed in the message. Ethan and Lyra try to look over Elm's shoulder to see what is so important.

After he finished reading, Elm turns back around only for the two to straighten themselves up trying not to look like they were noisy.

"Um Ethan," Elm begins to ask. "I was wondering if I can ask you for another favor"

"Sure Professor." Ethan answered. 'I wonder what the favor is; does it have to do with that email?'

"You see, I have this acquaintance that people call Mr. Pokémon. He keeps finding weird things and raving about his discoveries." Elm begins to explain. "Anyway I just got an email from him saying that this time it's real"

"I wonder what it is." Lyra asks while Ethan asks himself the same question.

"It's probably another Pokémon Egg, but we're still so busy with our research . . . so can you go in our place?"

Ethan thought about it and replied, "Sure I'll go for you."

"Thank you so much Ethan." Elm grabs Ethan's hand and shakes it with joy. "I really do appreciate it. You can also take this opportunity to bond with your Pokémon"

"I guess." Ethan replies.

"Mr. Pokémon travels everywhere and finds rarities." Elm explains. "His house is just past Cherrygrove City. You just go north a little past Cherrygrove."

"That not too far, I'll be back in no time." Ethan than turns to Lyra. "You wanna come along with me?"

"No thanks, I think I'll head home and spend sometime with Chikorita." Was her reply.

"Okay then, see ya Professor." Ethan tells Elm as he and Lyra leave the lab together with their Pokémon at their heels. "See ya later you two." Elm waves them goodbye as he gets back to his research. Before the two can leave, the aide comes up with a paper bag in hand. "Ethan, before you go take these with you."

Ethan goes into the bag and pulls out a purple spray bottle. "What's this?"

"Those are potions." The aide explains. "If your Pokémon is injured along the way, you can use them to restore their health."

"Wow that sounds useful." Ethan takes the five potions and puts them away in his bag. "Thanks a lot"

"Your welcome." The aide sees the two on their way out. "Be careful on your way."

Ethan and Lyra, along with their new Pokémon, walk together until they reached Lyra's house. "Before you go, you should show your mom Cyndaquil." She tells him as she walks up to the door.

"That's the first place I'm going." Ethan reassures her and holds up his right pinky. "And when I get back, I'll keep my promise and play with you."

Lyra flashes him a sweet smile, glad that he still remembered, and hooked her pinky to his in a pinky swear. "I'll hold you to that promise." After they unhook their pinkies, Lyra bends down and pets Cyndaquil on the head.

"You keep an eye on my boy ok cutie?" She asks the little Pokémon. "Quil!"

Ethan just blushes to her comment as Lyra stands up and looks at him. "Be careful on your way ok?"

"Umm . . . Yeah I will" Ethan stutters still blushing. "W-well I see ya Lyra, come on Cyndaquil." With his Pokémon at his heels he runs towards his house with Lyra waving him goodbye before going inside her house.

As Ethan walks into his house he spots his mother sitting at the kitchen table drinking a cup a tea. "Hey mom I'm back." She turns around and sees her son home.

"Hello honey welcome home." She gets up to go to her son when she spots Cyndaquil. "Well hello their cutie; is this your Pokémon Ethan?"

"Yeah this is Cyndaquil; I got him from Professor Elm." He picks up Cyndaquil and haves a seat at the table. "Well that was nice of him." She heads to the kitchen getting another cup of tea for Ethan.

Over tea Ethan explains everything that happened at Professor Elm's lab and his errand while his mother listens to every word. "My that sounds like a difficult task you have."

"Don't worry mom," He assures his mother. "It will be easy especially with Cyndaquil by my side, right buddy?" Cyndaquil response by igniting the flames on its back.

"Quiilll!" Ethan and his mother were surprised by the Pokémon's action but they both knew that it was his own way of saying "yes". "See mom, we'll be fine."

"I guess . . . Oh, that right!" She suddenly remembers something and literally leaps out of her seat. "I almost forgot!" She goes to a drawer and pulls something out of it.

"Your Pokegear came back from the repair shop today." She hands him the device that was just like Lyra's except it was blue instead of pink. "Thanks mom." Ethan takes the device and clips it to his left jacket sleeve. The Pokegear, or Pokémon Gear, is a device all trainers should have. It acts as a cell phone and if the right data card is installed also a radio and even a map; though Ethan's only has the phone function.

"Well I better go before its gets late." Ethan gives his mother a hug before he leaves. "See ya mom." She waves to her son as his Pokémon follows him.

As Ethan and Cyndaquil run towards Cherrygrove, they stop in front of Professor Elm's lab. He sees a stranger looking through the window of the lab. 'Who is that kid?' He wonders to himself. 'I never seen him before; I wonder if he new around here?' The stranger that he was thinking about was a boy around his height but about a year older than him. He has long red hair stopping at the end of his neck; also wearing a black and red jacket with matching shoes and purple jeans.

As Ethan made his way towards the youth he hears him speaking to himself. ". . . So this is the famous Elm Pokémon Lab . . ." Ethan moves closer and tries to talk to him.

"Um excuse me but . . ." The red-headed youth looks at him with an evil look "What are you staring at?" That was all he said before he pushes Ethan away from him.

"Hey!" Ethan retaliates while keeping his balance. "What was that for?" The youth gave no reply as he continued to look through the window. Cyndaquil, angry at this youth for pushing his trainer, lit the flames on its back and got into attack position.

"Cyndaa!" Ethan ran up to his little buddy trying to calm him down. "Hold on Cyndaquil, there's no reason to get fired up. Look I'm fine see?" Cyndaquil looks at Ethan and decides to listen to him putting out its flame. "Come on buddy, he got an errand to run"

As the two begin to walk away, they are suddenly stopped by someone shouting. "Wait a minute!" They turn around to only see Professor Elm running from the lab door towards them out of breath. "Good thing . . . I caught you before . . . you left."

"What wrong Professor?" Elm straightens himself up and catches his breath. "I wanted to give you my number." Elm takes Ethan's Pokegear and programs his number in it.

"If something comes up give me a call." He returns the device back to him. "I already have your number so I'll call you if something comes up as well."

"Thanks Professor." Ethan places his Pokegear back on his sleeve. "Well see ya later." He walks off again as Elm goes back inside his lab. Ethan once again stops and glances over his shoulder. That red-headed boy was still there looking through the window.

'I hope I don't see that guy again.' He thinks to himself as he and Cyndaquil make their way to Route 29 which would lead them towards Cherrygrove City.

But without realizing it, Ethan and the red-haired youth would meet once again . . . sooner than he thinks.

And there you have it. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter; I put a lot of hard work into this one. As mentioned earlier I have just started school so these chapters will take longer to post. If I am lucky, since it is a three day weekend, I might be able to post another chapter so keep your fingers crossed. Also pleases right reviews for this so I know if I'm doing a good job on it. So until next time . . . Peace!


	3. Chapter 3

What it is, this is BlackSamurai-JJ with chapter three as I promise. I know I said I would post this one the same weekend as chapter two but did not had enough time. So I hope you guys enjoy it; I put a whole lot of time into it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or its characters.

_Chapter 3: Old Faces and New Rivals_

"Wow! Look at the all the Pokémon on this route!" "Cynda, Cynda!" The little Fire-type squealed agreeing with its trainer. "I know little buddy, it's amazing."

Walking down the grassy path of Route 29, Ethan and his partner Cyndaquil were heading west towards Cherrygrove City to meet Mr. Pokémon. Along the way, the two were admiring the scenery and wild Pokémon around them, especially Ethan.

There were Rattata scurrying around the trees, a Sentret poking its head out of its burrow, and a few Pidgey sitting on a branch watching the two.

'This really is amazing; I never thought this would happen today' Ethan thought to himself; it almost didn't seem real. Just earlier this day Professor Elm called him to his lab to ask for a favor, and in doing so he got his first Pokémon, Cyndaquil. He now had a Pokémon companion like his friend Lyra.

"Cyndaquil, how are you doing back there?" He turned his head checking on his little buddy. "Quil," Ethan chuckled at the response. He was truly enjoying the company of the Fire Mouse Pokémon. Ethan always wanted to have a Pokémon of his own and at times was envious of Lyra and her Marill. Now, just by helping Elm's research and visiting Mr. Pokémon, his wish came true.

Suddenly, a Rattata jumped out of the grass and landed in front of the two, snapping Ethan out of his thoughts. "Waah!" he shrieked in surprise.

"R-rattata!" the Mouse Pokémon roared as it bared its fangs at the two prepared to attack.

'Looks like he wants to fight' "Cyndaquil, you ready to battle?" Cyndaquil moved in front of Ethan igniting its flame. "Quill!"

"I'll take that as a yes; ok Cyndaquil battle ready!" Ethan readied himself as he started his first battle with a wild Pokémon.

'Let see, what moves did the Professor say Cyndaquil knew?' he pondered as he tried to remember what Professor Elm told him before leaving.

"_Now Ethan, in order to get to Cherrygrove you must go west through Route 29 which is filled with wild Pokémon hiding in the tall grass."_

"_Which is why I have Cyndaquil with me; to protect me right Professor?"_

"_Right my boy. The three Pokémon that I showed you know three moves each; Cyndaquil knows Tackle, Leer, and Ember."_

"_Only three?" Elm saw the confusion in the boy and elaborated. "For the moment yes. The more battles your Pokémon fight the more experience they gain. With more experience, your Pokémon will learn more moves as it grows."_

"_Oh." Ethan finally understood why._

'Alright then, I guess I'll start on the offensive.' "Ok Cyndaquil," Ethan commanded. "Start off with a Tackle attack!" Cyndaquil went straight for Rattata ready to hit it but Rattata charged in with its own Tackle. The two Pokémon kept tackling each other in deadlock until Rattata use Tail Whip to knock Cyndaquil off balance and then strike with another Tackle.

"Cyndaquil, you okay?" Cyndaquil shook the attack off and got back up. "Quil!"

"Good, now let's try Ember!" Cyndaquil opened its mouth and shot bolts of fire at the Mouse Pokémon doing damage and stunning it for a moment. "Now finish it with Tackle." With that final attack, knocked out Rattata winning the battle.

"Alright Cyndaquil!" Ethan exclaimed giving a thumbs up. "You Rock!" Cyndaquil jumped with joy over its victory and the two went on their way.

As they continued down the route, they encountered more wild Pokémon. They battled more Rattata, some Pidgey, and a Sentret. With each encounter, the duo could chalk up another victory until they reached the entrance to Cherrygrove City.

"Looks like we made it buddy." He spoke to his Pokémon as they walked further into the city. From what he could tell, Cherrygrove wasn't a real big city but it was still bigger than New Bark with a few more buildings. As the two moved further into the city they were stopped by someone calling them.

"Excuse me youngster," an elderly man came up to them and spoke. "You are a rookie trainer aren't you? I can tell."

"As a matter of fact, I am." The man, known as the Guide Gent, smiled at the answer. "I thought so, everyone is a rookie at some point. If you'd like, I can teach you a few things"

"Well I guess-" "Ok then! Follow me!" Without letting Ethan finish, the guide took off only to turn around to look back at him.

"What are you waiting for lets go!" Ethan gave in and just followed the man until they came to a small building with a red roof and a white symbol of a Poke Ball.

"This is a Pokémon Center; they will heal your Pokémon in no time at all. You will be relying on them a lot." From there they went to a similar looking building but with a blue roof instead.

"This is a Poke Mart; they sell Poke Balls for catching wild Pokémon and other useful items." Next they went up north to a route that leads away from the city.

"Route 30 is out this way; trainers will be battling their Pokémon there. If you go a little further, you'll se Mr. Pokémon's House." After hearing that, Ethan came to a startling realization.

"Mr. Pokémon's House? That's where I'm heading next." The guide chuckled at this. "Heh, I bet you're glad now I decided to give you a tour huh?" Before Ethan could reply, the guide took off once again.

'Geez, he's fast for an old man.' He thought as he tried to keep up. After a little walking, they come to a small shore in the west part of the city.

"This is the sea, as you can see." A drop of sweat fell down Ethan's head after hearing that piece of bad humor. "Some Pokémon are found only in water." They then went back into the city and came to a small house.

"Here . . . is my house!" the guide proclaimed after dragging Ethan through the whole city. 'Finally!' Ethan said in his head being glad that he doesn't have to keep up with the old man. "I see, well thanks for the tour but I have an errand to finish."

"Wait for a moment." The guide when inside his house and then came back with a box in hand. "For your effort in keeping up with me, I'll give you my Running Shoes!" Ethan opened the shoe box and took a look at its contents. The shoes looked like his but a little newer. "Wow thanks a lot."

"Your welcome, plus they're still warm." Ethan did a double take at the comment. "Wait . . . what?" "Got you, didn't I?" the guide laughed at Ethan confused face. Ethan just looked at the old man with another sweat drop on his head. 'What is with this old man; these jokes are horrible.' "Don't worry, they are brand new."

Ethan took off his old shoes, putting them in his bag, and slipping on the Running Shoes. After a little adjusting, he took a few steps to test them out. "They fit great."

"I'm glad you like them." The guide began to go back in his house. "Well I'll let you be on your way now, good bye."

"See ya, and thanks." Now with his new shoes, Ethan and Cyndaquil took off for Route 30. But before that, he decided to stop at the Pokémon Center to rest. The center was a bit bigger than Professor Elm's lab; there was a front desk with a nurse behind it, in the back right corner there were some PC's, a small lounge area where some trainers were resting, a cafeteria on the left side, a set of stairs leading to upstairs, and in the back of the center there were rooms for trainer who spend the night.

Ethan went up to the front desk and spoke to the nurse behind it. "Hello and welcome to the Pokémon Center. I'm Nurse Joy." Nurse Joy was a tall and fairly thin woman in her thirties. She wore a pink and white nurse outfit and had bright pink hair with two loops in the back of her hair. "How may I help you?"

"Nurse Joy can you restore my Cyndaquil to full heath?" Ethan returns his little buddy to its Poke Ball and hands it to the nurse who smiles in return. "Of course, it will only take a few minutes." She takes the Poke Ball and puts it in the healing machine. While he waits Ethan takes a look around the center. He decides to head upstairs to see what's up there. Once he reaches the second floor, a lady behind a smaller desk beckons him.

"Hello young man, are you a new trainer?" Ethan goes up to her and speaks with her. "Yes I am. I got my first Pokémon today." "That's good, do you have a Trainer Card"

"Trainer Card, what's that?" Ethan asks. The lady goes under the desk and pulls out an ID card. "A Trainer Card is proof of your status as a Pokémon Trainer while you're out adventuring." Ethan thought that the card would be useful.

"How do I get one?" The lady gets from behind her desk and leads him to a door. "Just follow me and we'll get you set." In the back room, she has Ethan sit in a chair with a white screen behind it. Once he sits down, she prepares the camera and takes his picture. Then after waiting in front of a small machine a card came out. She walks up to Ethan and hands it to him.

"Here you go, sign your name on the back of the card please." Ethan takes the card and signs the back of it. "There you go and you are all set." With that, Ethan puts his Trainer Card up and heads back downstairs to the front desk.

"Hello there," Nurse Joy greets him. "Your Cyndaquil is fully healed." Ethan takes his Poke Ball and brings out his buddy who is fully rested.

"You ready to go buddy?" Cyndaquil squeals in joy and jumps on top of Ethan's head. "Quil!" "I guess that is a yes, thanks Nurse Joy." With Cyndaquil on his head, Ethan waves Joy goodbye and leaves the Pokémon Center. Using the directions from the Guide Gent, he heads towards Route 30. But before he can go any further someone once again calls him out.

"Wait!" Turning around he saw the Guide Gent running towards him. "Good thing . . . I . . . caught you." The guide held his knees trying to catch his breath.

"What's wrong?" Breathing normally, the guide pulled out a card from his pocket. "I forget one thing; this is another token from me." It was a data card for Ethan's Pokegear.

"What is this?" Ethan looked over the data card that was handed to him. "That is a Map Card; you can see the map of the region you are currently in." He takes the card and inserts it into his Pokegear. "Wow thanks again." The guide heads back to his home.

"Its' nothing; good luck on your journey." Now with a map, Ethan once again heads toward Route 30 and to Mr. Pokémon.

"Now Cyndaquil, Ember!" Cyndaquil unleashed its small flames and took down a Ledyba. While on Route 30, Ethan ran into more Pokémon. Although fought with the same ones that were on Route 29, he also encountered Bug Pokémon like Caterpie, Weedle, and Ledyba. As he kept walking he came to a house with a small tree bearing some kind of fruit. Thinking its' Mr. Pokémon's house, he goes up to it and knocks.

"Hello?" Opening the door is a man in his forties and is balding a bit. "Are you Mr. Pokémon?" "Sorry, I'm not; most people who go through this route confuse me for him." "Oh sorry; mind if I come in for a bit?" The man, glad to have a visitor, lets Ethan in and they sit down for a bit to talk.

"Tell me, do you . . . have any Apricorns?" he asked Ethan. "Um no . . . what are Apricorns?" After hearing this, the man begins to explain.

"Apricorns grow on special trees that bear this fruit once a day; I have one of those trees too." Ethan then was reminded of something. "I think I saw one of those trees on Route 29." "Yep, they can be found all over Johto. Apricorns are really something; you can make Poke Balls out of them." Ethan was shocked at what the strange fruits can be used for.

"Really, you can make Poke Balls out of them?" The man chuckled at the boy's reaction. "Yep, they are very useful." The man gets up and go gets a small carrying case. "Here, I want you to have this; this is an Apricorn Box. You can use that to carry Apricorns you pick." Ethan takes the box and puts it in his bag. As the man walks Ethan outside, he point to behind his house.

"If you go a little further north you should reach Mr. Pokémon's house." Ethan grabs the man's hand and shakes it. "Thanks a lot, and thanks for the Apricorn Box as well."

"It was nothing, thank you for stopping by." The man walks back into his house waving. "Good luck on your journey." With that, Ethan and Cyndaquil continue down Route 30.

After a couple more encounters with wild Pokémon, the duo come across another house surrounded by trees. Ethan goes up to the door and knocks. 'I hope this is the right house.' Ethan tells himself. This time when the door opens, he sees an elderly man in a suit with a matching hat staring at him.

"Yes, can I help you?" "Are you Mr. Pokémon?" Mr. Pokémon opened the door wider and has Ethan come in. "Yes I am; you must be Ethan. Come on in and give me one minute." He motions Ethan to have a seat and goes to a glass case to fetch a certain item.

"This is what I want Professor Elm to examine." The item in question was a Pokémon Egg. "An egg?" Ethan was confused at this so called "rarity". "Yes it is; a friend of mine in Ecruteak City gave it to me; I bet you can't find this kind of egg in Johto." Ethan was still confused. "Yeah I guess." 'The professor was right; it's just a Pokémon Egg. Though there does seem something different about.' "I thought Professor Elm might be able to tell what it is." Ethan takes the Mystery Egg and carefully puts it in his bag. "Well I'll make sure he gets." Mr. Pokémon stops him before he leaves. "Before you go, there is someone you should meet first." He leads Ethan to another part of the house and there he meet a man the same age as Mr. Pokémon. He had dark gray hair, wore a gray dress shirt and brown pants, and had a white lab coat similar to Elm's but stopped at his knees.

"Hello Ethan, I'm Professor Oak, a Pokémon researcher from Kanto." Oak walks up to Ethan and spots Cyndaquil by his feet. "Oh! What's this? A Cyndaquil; that is a rare Pokémon." Ethan knelt down and petted his Pokémon. "Yep, Professor Elm gave him to me to help his research and to get here." Oak studied the two before speaking.

"I think I understand why Elm gave you that Pokémon; he knew you would treat it with love and care it seems." Oak then came up with an idea. "Ah! You seem to be dependable. How would you like to help me?" Ethan pondered for a second and stood up. "Sure, how can I help?"

Professor Elm reaches inside his lab coat and pulled out a red device. "See, this is the latest version of the Pokedex." Ethan studied this Pokedex Oak was talking about, "What does it do?" he wondered as Oak began to elaborate. "It automatically records data on Pokémon you have seen or caught. It is a high-tech encyclopedia and I'd like you to have it." Oak then hands the electronic encyclopedia to Ethan. "Thanks but what do you want me to do with it?" Ethan was still confused on what he was supposed to do.

"With this I want you to go meet many Pokémon and complete that Pokedex." Ethan pondered on this mission and got excited. "Okay Professor, I'll do it!" A grin spread across Oak's face at the youth's response. "Atta boy, I wish you good luck; well I've stayed too long, I've got to get to Goldenrod City for my usual radio show." As Oak said good bye to Mr. Pokémon and open the door, he turned back. "Ethan, I have a feeling that this is not the last time we'll meet . . . Lets exchange numbers just to be on safe side." Ethan gave his Pokegear to Oak and he put his number into it. "Until next, see you later by boy." With that Professor Oak left and Ethan followed as well.

"Well I guess I better get back to New Bark, see ya Mr. Pokémon." The two walked to the door and said good bye. "Farewell Ethan, be careful on your way back." As Ethan and Cyndaquil stepped out of the house, they both notice that the sun was going down. It was after all 5:00 PM. "It's getting late, we better get back Cyndaquil." "Quil!" His little buddy agreed as they head back down Route 30. But only after a few steps, his Pokegear began to beep indicating someone was calling.

'I wonder who is calling.' Ethan thought to himself as he opened the device. "Hello?" he asked only to see a panicking Professor Elm. "H-hello, Ethan?" Ethan wondered what got the professor so worked up. "It's me Professor, what's wrong?" "It's a disaster! Uh, um, it's just terrible! What should I do? It . . . Oh, no . . . Please get back here now!" Click, Elm hung up leaving Ethan worried. "Hello . . . Professor are you there . . . Professor?" Hearing this, Ethan put up his Pokegear and looked at Cyndaquil. "Looks like there's trouble back home; we better hurry little buddy!" "Quill!" Cyndaquil agreed as the two took off at full speed down Route 30.

Exiting Route 30, the two ran through Cherrygrove making their way towards the entrance to Route 29 until they spotted someone familiar. Coming towards them was that red-headed boy whose was staring through Professor Elm's lab earlier today. He came up to the duo and stared at them. ". . . You got a Pokémon from the lab too. What a waste." "Say What!" Ethan spoke with anger in his voice as the boy continued. "That's a Pokémon that is too good for a wimp like you." Ethan continued to become angry at the boy's insults.

"Wimp! Who do you think you are calling a wimp?" The boy just gave him a cold stare. ". . . Don't you get what I'm saying? Well, I too have a Pokémon. I'll show you what I mean!" The boy took out a Poke Ball and got into a battle position. Seeing this Ethan and Cyndaquil got ready as well.

"Fine! It's a battle you want; it's a battle you get. Cyndaquil, battle ready!" "Cynda-quill!" Setting its back aflame, Cyndaquil prepared for battle. "Well then," the boy said tossing his Poke Ball. "Go! Totodile!" What came out was the Big Jaw Pokémon like the one he saw at the lab. "Toto!" It roared bearing its many teeth. Ethan was surprised by this, but only for a moment.

"Okay then, Cyndaquil Tackle attack!" With that Cyndaquil charged at full speed towards Totodile. The boy just smirk at the move. "Hmm . . . Totodile, dodge and use Scratch." As Cyndaquil got close, Totodile side-stepped out the way and struck with its claws knocking the Fire Mouse Pokémon back. 'Whoa! What speed!' Ethan thought to himself. "Cyndaquil! You okay?" shaking the attack off, Cyndaquil got back up ready. 'Alright, let's try a long range attack.' "Cyndaquil, Ember!" "Hmm," the boy smirked yet again. "Bad move; Totodile counter with Water Gun." At the same time that Cyndaquil shot its bolt of fire, Totodile fired a jet of water. The two attacks collided but the Water Gun pierced through the Ember and hit dead on. "Cyndaquil no!" Ethan shouted. The boy only shook his head. "Pathetic, there's no way your Cyndaquil can win against Totodile; why don't you just give up." As much as he hated the idea, Ethan knew the boy was right about one thing. Cyndaquil ,being a Fire –type, was weak against Water-types like Totodile. "Maybe so, but I don't give up so easily. Let's go Cyndaquil!" Recovering from the attack, Cyndaquil charged right back into battle.

As the battle continued, the two Pokémon kept trading blows doing damage to each other bit by bit; while Ethan cheered on Cyndaquil and the boy staying silent only speaking to issue out and order. "Hmm . . . your doing ok, for a weakling." The boy said making Ethan get even angrier. While both Pokémon where getting tired, Cyndaquil was ready to faint while Totodile was still going strong. "Time to end this," the boy spoke. "Totodile, finish it with Scratch." "Dile!" Totodile declared as it charged at Cyndaquil with claws readied. Ethan knew that Cyndaquil couldn't take another hit and had to think of something fast.

"Cyndaquil! Don't give up!" He shouted. With that bit of encouragement, Cyndaquil opening its mouth but instead of fire, it shot out a stream of smoke surrounding Totodile and stopping it in its tracks. "Toto? Toto?" Totodile looked around unable to see a thing. "What?" the boy was shocked showing for the first time in the battle emotion. Ethan was also surprised by this move as well. 'What? That must have been Smokescreen," Ethan thought as the fire in his eyes burned again. "This means we still have a chance.' "Cyndaquil, Ember straight into the smoke!" Just as he was told to, Cyndaquil shot its attack into the smoke knocking the Big Jaw Pokémon out of the smoke and onto the ground. "Get up!" the boy kept on shouting as Totodile struggled to get on its feet. "Now finish it Cyndaquil! Tackle attack at full speed!" With all of its strength, Cyndaquil charged at full speed and hit Totodile head on, knocking it to the ground again and KO'ing it as well.

"This can't be!" the boy shouted, surprised that his Pokémon lost even with the type advantage. Ethan just jumped with joy. "Way to go Cyndaquil!" He proclaim giving the thumbs up. "You rock and you rule!" Cyndaquil was happy as well jumping into its trainer's arms. The boy just looked at Ethan in disgust as he returned Totodile to its Poke Ball. "Big deal, you just got lucky that's all." The boy walked up to Ethan and stared at him. Ethan ,done jumping around and putting his buddy down, stared back at the red-headed boy.

"Do you know who I am? . . . I'm going to be the world's greatest Pokémon Trainer." With saying that, the boy pushed past Ethan and made his way into Cherrygrove. Ethan just looked at the boy as he went by. 'What is up with that guy?" He looks down and picks up what looks like some kind of card. "This must be that guy's Trainer Card!" He said out loud as he saw the boy's picture and even his name. Suddenly the boy came back and snatched the card out of Ethan's hand.

"Give that back!" he spat. "That's my Trainer Card!" Looking at the card the boy came to a startling conclusion. "Oh no! You saw my name . . ." Once again the boy took off with Ethan staring at him. "Once again," Ethan said to himself. " What is up with him?" Deciding to forget about it, Ethan knelt down and petted Cyndaquil.

"Nice job Cyndaquil, you did well at your first trainer battle." Cyndaquil just squealed with joy at all the praise he was getting. Going into his bag, Ethan pulled out a potion and sprayed Cyndaquil restoring most of his health. He then picks him up and puts him on top of his head, which seems to be his favor spot. "Alright little buddy, lets hurry back home." "Quil!" Cyndaquil agreed as Ethan took off down Route 29.

Today was defiantly turning out to be a surprising day. Ethan got his first Pokémon, made his way past Cherrygrove, encountered many wild Pokémon, got a strange egg from Mr. Pokémon, was given a Pokedex from Professor Oak, and even had his first trainer battle. But still . . .more surprises were to come when Ethan would reach his home town of New Bark.

- Well there you go, I hope ya'll enjoy this chapter. I like to thank CappyT for his review which caused me to work harder on this chapter. You rock Man! So keep sending those reviews. The next chapter will be out by next week so until then . . . Peace!


	4. Chapter 4

What it is? Here's an update for the year 2011. I originally was gonna post this in January but certain things got in the way so enjoy.

_Chapter 4: On the Road to Violet City_

When last we left Ethan, he had reached Mr. Pokémon's house and obtaining an egg from him. While there he met the famous Professor Oak who gave him a Pokedex and asked him to see and record data on all the Pokémon he saw. With that done Ethan left the house until he got a call from Professor Elm telling him to come back as soon as possible. On his way back he ran into a boy by the name of Silver. He then challenged Ethan to a Pokémon battle in which Ethan wins. As soon as Silver left, Ethan continued his way down Route 29 back to New Bark town to see what the problem.

"We're almost there Cyndaquil so hold on." Ethan spoke as he sped down Route 29 with his little buddy on his head. Dashing through the grass and hopping over fences he finally leaves the route and makes it to New Bark Town.

"Finally back." Ethan gasped. "Now I got to get to the lab." Running at full speed to Professor Elm's lab he arrives only to see a police car out in front. "Oh no, this can not be good." Ethan was getting worried as he rushed inside. Once inside he saw the professor speaking with a police officer looking frantic.

"Professor, I'm here." Turning from their conversation the two adults see the young boy heading towards them.

"Who are you?" The policeman asked Ethan seeing him as suspicious. "We are investigating the case of the missing Pokémon here. . ." Then a thought appeared in his head. "Wait, rule number 1; whoever did it will come back to the site." Ethan just stood there in confusion as the officer continued. "Oh my. . . So you must be. . . the one who did it!" After hearing this Ethan did a face plant anime style. 'He can not be serious.' He thought to himself.

"Hold on a second!" A cry came out coming from Lyra who had just entered the lab. "He has nothing to do with it!" "That is true; Ethan was doing some work for me." Professor Elm intervened as well. After hearing this, the officer takes back his statement.

Oh, well if you say so professor, then I believe you." He states but Ethan still could not get over it. 'Please, if I was the criminal I wouldn't come back to the scene of the crime.'

"If you want the guy who did it, I saw him." Lyra begins to explain. "There was a red-haired boy looking into the building." When Ethan heard this he instantly knew who she was talking about. "You mean that boy dressed in black from earlier?" "So you saw him too?" She said surprised. "Yeah, in fact I just battled him on my way here." The police officer then came up and started interrogating Ethan, so to speak.

"What? You mean you battled the boy?" He asked. "Did you happen to get his name?"

"Yeah, after our battle he dropped his trainer card; I believe it said Silver." "I see! So Silver was his name." Ethan simply nodded. "Alright then, thanks for helping my investigation; my next assignment is to search for this red-headed individual." With that the officer dashed out the lab to parts unknown. Once he left Lyra walked up to Ethan.

"Ethan! I'm glad they understand you are innocent." She smiled to her friend as she made her way to the door. "See you later!" Giving him a wink she left the lab leaving Ethan blushing. Professor Elm had to cough just to get the boys attention.

"Now Ethan," He said. "What was Mr. Pokémon's big discovery?" Remembering what he was sent to do; Ethan went into his bag and pulled out the Mystery Egg. At the site of this the professor was shocked.

"Huh? This is a . . . . Egg, isn't it?" Ethan wasn't surprised by the professor's expression. "I said the same thing too." Professor Elm took the egg and began to examine it.

"This egg may be something I've never seen . . . still it's just an egg." He takes the egg and places it on his lab table. "Mr. Pokémon is always fascinated by eggs; well, since he gave it to us, we might as well find out what secret it holds."

"Oh right professor!" Ethan suddenly remembers something and goes into his pocket to get the Pokedex. "While I was at his house I met a Professor Oak and he gave me this." Seeing the device, the professor was surprised. "What? Professor Oak gave you a Pokedex?" "Yeah, he did." Ethan replied wondering about the professor's reaction.

"Th-that's incredible!" "Why?" Ethan was even more confused than before. "He is superb at seeing the potential of people as Trainers." After hearing this Ethan was very surprised. "Me? Potential?" Professor Elm continued to explain "Yep, I knew you were a little different." Ethan was starting to get embarrassed from the professor's words. Suddenly, Professor Elm came up with an idea.

"I have an idea." He started. "Your Pokémon seem to really like you, so why don't you . . . take the Pokémon Gym challenge?" "Gym challenge?" Ethan started to become curious. "You see, throughout Johto, there are eight Gyms with a Gym leader who is considered as an elite trainer; if you beat the Gym leader you will earn a Gym badge." Elm continued with his explanation. "If you manage to defeat all the Gym leaders, you'll eventually be able to enter the Pokémon League." Hearing that got Ethan excited. "Really?" "Oh yes. Not only that, if you win in the league you are given a chance to challenge the Elite 4 and even the Pokémon League Champion!" With that Ethan was totally pumped up. "Awesome!" He was very familiar with the Elite 4, four of the strongest trainers in the region; and the champion was stronger than them. If anyone could reach the champion and somehow win, that person would become champion; and now he has been given the chance to achieve this.

" . . . Or not! Ha!" That one statement from the professor caused Ethan to do another face plant. "Becoming the champion is not at all easy, but you can certainly challenge Violet City's Gym to start you off." Ethan picked himself off the floor and dusted himself off. "Right professor." Professor Elm chuckled before he turned serious.

". . . Ethan . . . Challenging the Gyms scattered around will be a long journey; before you leave, make sure that you talk to your mom." With all of the excitement, Ethan almost forgot about his mom. "Don't worry professor, I will." And with that Ethan sped off towards home. With Ethan gone, Professor Elm sighed. "I wonder what's gonna happened to that Totodile; they say a Pokémon raised by a bad person turn bad itself." Still depressed, the professor turns to his research in order to clear his mind.

As Ethan enters his home, he could smell dinner cooking. "I'm back once again mom." Turning from her cooking, she walks up and hugs her son and pet Cyndaquil.

"Welcome home sweetie; you're just in time for dinner." Hearing that, Ethan stomach rumbles in anticipation. "Great." He exclaims as he has a seat at the dinning table. While eating, he told his mom about what he and Professor Elm talked about.

"I see, so you're leaving on an adventure . . ." While there was a hint of sadness, she was very happy for her son. "That's great Ethan; I think you should go for it." Those words made Ethan relax knowing that his mom was okay with it. "In fact, I will help out too." "How will you do that?" His mom had to think for a bit until an idea popped in her head. "I know! Every time you receive prize money, send some to me and I will save it for you." Ethan thought that this was a good idea. On a long journey, money is very important; and it would be kind of dangerous to carry a lot of money.

"Sure mom; that would be great." With that said, his mom clapped her hands in glee. "Okay then honey; while you are on your journey I will take care of your money." When dinner was over, Ethan and Cyndaquil went upstairs to his room to relax. As he lies on his bed Ethan pondered about every thing that has happened today and would happen tomorrow when we would leave for his journey.

"Tomorrow I'll be leaving home to start my journey challenging the Gym leaders." He said to himself while feeling a little bit nervous. "It definitely won't be easy." Suddenly Cyndaquil jumps up onto the bed and tries to cheer up his trainer. Hearing this Ethan smiled.

"Your right Cyndaquil; it may be difficult but we'll do us best right?" Cyndaquil ignite its flames and gave Ethan his own version of a thumbs up. "That's what I thought little buddy." Ethan chuckled as he pet Cyndaquil.

In the kitchen, Ethan's mother was busy washing the dishes. "Tomorrow my baby is leaving for his Pokémon journey; it only feels like yesterday he was a little boy." She was feeling a bit of nostalgia and sadness from her son leaving. "He certainly is growing up fast." Suddenly door bell rung. Rushing to the door, she opens up to see the cheerful girl from earlier.

"Hello ma'am." Lyra said with a smile on her face. "Well hello Lyra; are you here for Ethan?" Lyra nodded as she called down her son.

"Ethan! You have a visitor!" Rushing down the steps with Cyndaquil on his heels Ethan see's Lyra at the door. "Hey Lyra, what's up." Lyra just wags her finger and replies. "Don't tell me you forgot our promise right?" Ethan face began to blush when he remembered what he told her earlier.

"No of course not." He said putting his hand behind his head. 'Oh man! I almost forgot!' "Hey mom, I'm gonna step out with Lyra for a little bit okay?" She looked at her son, then to his friend and started grinning like a cat. "Okay honey; just don't stay out too late." "I won't." Just as the two leave she blurts out "Make sure you two behave." At this point Ethan falls over and Lyra's face burns red from the remark.

"Mom!" Ethan shouts with a red face as he picks himself off the ground. "See you later you two." His mother quickly closes the door before the two could reply. For a minute the two stood there with their faces still red; Lyra decides to break the silence and pulls Ethan by his hand. "Well . . . let's go." She stutters as she drags her friend to parts unknown.

"Um Lyra, where exactly are we going?" Ethan asked his friend who is now dragging him through the forest surrounding New Bark. "You'll see very soon." After about a minute of walking they come across a small clearing with a patch of beautiful flowers and a small pond. Ethan was amazed at the site while Lyra continued to smile.

"Do you like it?" She asked. "I found this place a few days ago when I was searching for Marill, and I wanted to show you." "I can see why; it really is amazing." It was all he really could say about the site. Cyndaquil ran and started exploring the area. Seeing this, Lyra took out two Poke Balls and released the Pokémon inside.

"Chikorita, Marill come out!" She shouted as the two Pokémon came out; they went up to Cyndaquil and the three started to play. Ethan and Lyra sat down on a flat rock near the pond and just watched their Pokémon play.

"Look's like they're having a lot of fun." Lyra giggled. "Yep, there sure are." Ethan replies as he shifts his sights onto the black, starry night sky. Since New Bark Town was a small town, they didn't have all those lights like in the big cities; this made seeing the stars easier. After sitting there for a few minutes Lyra spoke in a hush tone.

"So Ethan," She started. "You're going on a Pokémon journey soon, aren't you?" Ethan was surprised that Lyra knew since the only ones to know were Professor Elm and his mother. "How did you know?" Lyra turned her head towards him. "Professor told me when I came back to see him." "Oh." It was all he could say as they sat in silence until Lyra broke it again.

"So?" Ethan looked at her curiously. "So what?" "So are you going to go?" He sat there and thought for a second. He already knew that he was going to go but he was still having a little doubt. "At first, I wasn't but now I really want to." Ethan then turned his head towards Cyndaquil who is still playing with Marill and Chikorita.

"When I was on my way to Mr. Pokémon's house, I was thrilled to see all the Pokémon surrounding me; it was great to see the world outside of New Bark." He continued to stare at his Pokémon buddy and his smile started to grow. "Walking with Cyndaquil and battling Pokémon along the way was also great; it was like a small fire ignited within me." Lyra just stared at her friend in wonder as she heard him described all that happened today as a small smile grew on her face.

"When the professor told me that I have potential and that I should take the gym challenge, that fire grew and I felt like I could do it." Ethan stood up from the rock and had a determined look on his face. "After hearing that, I just couldn't help getting excited; so I decided to take the challenge and make my way to league!" Lyra continued to watch her friend as she giggles at his antics.

"So you plan to take over Johto them?" She asked him. Ethan became embarrassed, his face turning red and sat right back down. "Not really; I don't think I'll make it that far." Lyra then scooted a little closer to him. "I think you would make it all the way." Ethan looks at his friend with surprise from her statement.

"You really think so?" Ethan asked. Lyra scoots over a little bit closer to him as she begins to explain and her cheeks start going red. "You're very determined, courageous, and confident; you are always positive and you are very close with Cyndaquil after being with each other for only a day." Ethan began to blush himself and he scooted closer to Lyra to the point their shoulders were touching. "Besides Professor Elm believes in you, your mom believes in you, even Cyndaquil believes in you so I say go for it."

"You're right Lyra," Ethan says turning to his friend. "Thanks." "Don't mention it; after all we are best friends." They continued to sit there staring at the stars. "So you are leaving tomorrow?" Lyra questions. "First thing in the morning; if I want to get to Violet City before night it is better to get an early start." Lyra looks at Ethan with a smirk. "Wanting to get away from this quiet little town as soon as possible huh?" She teases him. Ethan waves his hand in defense. "It's not like that I'm just excited to start my journey; from the way you say it you'd think I'm not coming back." "Well you'll be going to many towns and cities and seeing all the sites; you'll be having so much fun you probably not want to come back." Ethan looks at Lyra placing his hand on top of hers.

"No matter what city I go to, this will always be the place I will return to; besides why would I not come back to were my home is and my best friend." Hearing this Lyra flashes him a sweet smile. "You promise?" Ethan gives her his signature thumbs up. "I haven't broken one yet." The two began to laugh at the antic; after a few seconds the two stop and realize how close they were to each other. They sat there staring into each others eyes as the moon light cause them to shine allowing each other to see their reflection. Their faces began to glow red, and Ethan hand continued to hold Lyra's hand. Suddenly they begin to bring their faces closer; closing the gap between them inch by inch. They both close their eyes as their lips get ready to touch until. . .

"Cyndya?" The squeal was all it took to snap the two out of their little moment. To their surprise all of their Pokémon were staring at their little moment with eyes wide open and full of wonder from the site. This caused the two to separate from each other, Ethan removed his hand and Lyra stood up with her hand behind her head, and was now glowing red. Thinking quickly Lyra decided to change the subject to get away from the awkward silence.

"Um . . . so Ethan." She stuttered. "I heard that you got a Pokedex from Professor Oak right." While also going along with Lyra, Ethan almost forgot about the device he had. "Oh yeah, I did." Going into his pocket, he pulls out the said device. Ethan pushes a blue button on the front and the Pokedex opened up. Two screens were shown on the device; one on the main part and one above it on the part that flips open. Ethan saw no buttons on, but judging from the bottom screen it had a touch screen.

"So this gives you data on Pokémon right?" Lyra was very curious of the device. "That's what Professor Oak said although I'm not so sure how it works." Deciding to just wing it Ethan points it at Cyndaquil; it causes the top screen to turn on and show a picture of his Pokémon. Then an electronic voice can from the device.

"_Cyndaquil: the Fire Mouse Pokémon. It is timid and always curls up in a ball. If attacked, it flares up its back for protection."_

"Wow! That is so cool!" Lyra spoke with wonder; Ethan agreed with as well. The bottom screen showed height, weight, locations it can be found, and options for showing moves the Pokémon knows or will learn. Lyra asked Ethan to try it on her Pokémon as well, in which he did.

"_Chikorita: the Leaf Pokémon. A sweet aroma gently wafts from the leaf on its head. It is docile and loves to soak up the sun's rays." _

"_Marill: the Aqua Mouse Pokémon. The tip of its tail, which contains oil that is lighter than water, lets it swim without drowning."_

"That is one handy device; it tells you all that just by pointing at the Pokémon." Lyra tells Ethan as he chuckles and closes the Pokedex before putting it away. "It's amazing what technology can do these days." He then points his thumb in the direction they had come from. "You ready to head back?" Lyra nods her head as she calls her Pokémon to come as they left the clearing. On the way back, the two stayed silent, unable to speak to one another. Their thoughts went back to what happened earlier in the clearing before they were interrupted. They both wondered what would of happened if they had continued. Ethan glance at Lyra, noticing her slim figure, her sparkling brown eyes and her thin pink lips, and his cheeks glowed red.

'Wow, Lyra's gotten a lot cuter than usual.' Lyra turns to his directions and Ethan turns to look forward hoping she didn't catch him. Lyra herself starts to glance at him noticing him being at little bit taller and his broad shoulders; she in turns begins to blush. 'I never noticed how handsome Ethan really is.' She suddenly looks in front of her as she keeps her eyes looking down at the ground. Their Pokémon, who are following behind them, just stare at their trainers wondering what it wrong with them.

As they made it back to the town, they went their separate ways but not before they said good night.

"So will I see you tomorrow?" Ethan asks his friend as she heads for home. "Of course," Lyra waves her finger at him. "You didn't think you would leave without saying goodbye to your best friend would you?" Ethan chuckled as he placed a hand on the back of his head bashfully. "Wouldn't dream of it." Lyra giggled as she headed home with her Pokémon behind her, but not before turning her head towards Ethan and gave him a wink.

"See ya later Ethan." She said, leaving Ethan blushing again as he heads home. "Yeah, see ya." He speaks as he watches the girl leaves. Shaking off the thoughts of Lyra, Ethan and Cyndaquil head home as well in order to prepare for tomorrow.

Morning came as the sun slowly rose over the sea of trees surrounding New Bark. While most of its citizen still lay in their beds, some were rising from their sleep ready to greet the day; especially one boy in particular.

"All right that should be everything." Ethan checked his bag making sure he had all of his supplies for the day. He had awakened early today, although he normally sleeps in, so he could get an early start for his Pokémon journey.

'Starting my Pokémon journey today, I still can not believe it!' He thought to himself as he is filled with excitement. Ever since yesterday, Ethan had been thinking about this moment; he was beginning his Pokémon journey. He would go from town to town, catching new Pokémon, challenging trainers and Gym leaders, and make his way to the Pokémon League. Just the thought of that made him so happy he was about to burst.

"Just one more thing and I'm all set." He said as he grabbed his hat and placed it on his head. Ethan then grabs the Poke Ball on his belt and released its contents. "Cyndaquil, come on out!" As soon as he said that, his little buddy was standing at his feet looking happy.

"Morning Cyndaquil, are you ready for today?" "Quil!" Cyndaquil squealed as he lit his back on fire for a moment. "Ok then, let's get moving!" With that, Ethan left his room and headed down stairs with Cyndaquil right behind him. As he makes his way to the bottom floor, he smells something cooking. To his surprise, he sees his mother in the kitchen busy fixing something.

"Good morning sweetie." She says with a smile on her face at the site of her son. Ethan greets his mother with a little bit of confusion. "Um, morning mom, what's up?"

"Well I figured you would get an early start today so I figured I make you a nice breakfast to get you started." At that moment, Ethan's stomach began to growl; this caused him to chuckle as has he sat at the kitchen table. His mom came up to him with a plate stacked with pancakes that he began to scarf down. She even made some mini pancakes just for Cyndaquil; she pets the little Pokémon as he digs into his food just like his trainer.

Once breakfast was done, Ethan made his way to the front door with his mother and Cyndaquil. She stopped at the doorway as he stepped outside.

"Make sure that you eat properly everyday and not just junk food, and do not stay up too late, and also-" "Don't worry mom I will do everything you say." Ethan interrupted his mother while in the middle of her rant. "Oh I know honey." She then gives Ethan a big like she was never gonna see him again. "Take care of yourself okay?" Ethan returns the hugs and replies back. "I will."

"I'll call you when I get to Violet City." Ethan reassures his mother. With that, they release each other from their hug and Ethan heads down the path away from his house and Cyndaquil follows. "See you later mom." He waves as he leaves.

"See you sweetie." She returns the wave back as she watches her son head off on his adventure. Once he was out of site, she let out a sigh and had a sad smile on her face.

"He really is growing up." She then turns towards the house and heads back in side her house.

As the two dash down the path, Ethan decides to stop at Lyra's house before he leaves like he had promised last night. However, when he got there, he was greeted by Lyra's father who told him that she had left a little earlier today. Ethan thanked him and said his goodbye. As Ethan got closer to the edge of town, he was deep in thought.

'I wonder where Lyra went. I told her that I would see her before I left.' He continued to wonder as he entered Route 29. It was there that he saw a familiar person with a familiar Pokémon.

"Lyra!" Ethan shouted as he spotted his childhood friend in the grass with her Marill. At the sound of her name, she turns and runs up to Ethan. "There you are I've been waiting for you." "What are you doing out here?" Ethan asked. "I stopped at your house and your dad said you left already." Lyra then points a finger at him.

"I figure that I would get to see you soon if I met you here." She then brings her hand up to her face and waves her finger. "Also, since you are a new trainer, I'm gonna teach you how to catch a Pokémon." Hearing that Ethan crossed his arms and looked at her sarcastically. "Oh really."

"Of course. I have been a trainer longer than you so it's my duty to teach new trainers like you the ropes." A sweat drop fell down Ethan's head as he stood there and just sighed. "Ok Miss Experience Trainer, show me how to catch a Pokémon." He said playing along with her. Lyra just giggled as she turned around searching through the grass until she spots a Rattata sniffing the ground.

"Alright, I'll catch that Rattata as an example." Lyra grabs a Poke Ball off her belt and tosses it. "Let's go Chikorita!" The Leaf Pokémon appears ready for battle. "Chika!" The Rattata becomes aware of the situation and prepares itself by charging with a Tackle attack. "Chikorita, counter with Tackle as well." The two Pokémon collide but it was Rattata that was knocked backed. Getting back up the Mouse Pokémon used Tackle again.

"Now dodge and use Razor Leaf." Side-stepping out the way of the charging Pokémon, Chikorita swings the leaf on its head and unleashes a wave of sharp spinning leaves that hit Rattata dead on. This knocks it down causing it to struggle getting back on its feet. Seeing this, Lyra returns Chikorita to its Poke Ball and grabs another one.

"Okay, go Poke Ball." She tosses the Poke Ball which hits Rattata; as it opens up a red light sucks it in and falls to the ground. The ball begins to shake as the button in the middle glows red until it stops moving and the light goes out. Lyra picks up the Poke Ball and shows it to Ethan.

"And that is how you catch a Pokémon." Ethan just smiles and gives her a little clap.

"Nice job, why don't you let me take a shot." Lyra puts up Rattata and gives him an empty Poke Ball. "Okay rookie, show me what you got." With a thumbs up, Ethan grabs the Poke Ball and searches around him. He looks up in a tree and sees a Hoothoot asleep in the tree. "There we go." He pulls out his Pokedex and scans it.

"_Hoothoot: the Owl Pokémon. It always stands on one foot. It changes feet so fast, the movement can rarely be seen._

"A good choice for my first catch, you ready Cyndaquil?" Cyndaquil got in front of him and ignited the flame on its back. "In that case, battle ready; use Ember now!"

On command, Cyndaquil fired its glowing red bolts at the sleeping Pokémon. When hit, Hoothoot awakened and fell out of the tree but was able to recover in time flying into the air glaring at the two; then at full speed it charged at them.

"It's using Tackle, dodge and use Smokescreen." Ducking down just in time, a stream of black smoke shot out and surrounded the flying Pokémon. Suddenly, a red light shot out from the smoke and was directed on Cyndaquil. "Quick, use Ember!" Ethan ordered as Cyndaquil fired at the cloud of smoke. But before the attack could hit, Hoothoot moved out of the cloud leaving Ethan surprised.

"How did it dodge Ember?" "It used Foresight earlier to increase its vision; it also allows it to hit evasive foes." Lyra informed him while on the sidelines. Ethan let that little bit of info sink in for a bit. "Hmm, that sounds useful; well in that case Cyndaquil, stay where you are and hold your ground." Cyndaquil stood where he was and wait for orders. Taking this chance, Hoothoot flew higher and began to dive down in a Tackle attack. Lyra just watched in shock and awe just wondered what the boy was planning. As Hoothoot got closer, Ethan shouted a command.

"Now Cyndaquil, Ember!" Right when Hoothoot was in its face, Cyndaquil unleashed its bolts of fire right in its face knocking it to the ground with dizzy eyes.

"Hah! It doesn't matter how evasive you are, you can't dodge an attack at point-blank range; now for the Poke Ball." Ethan said in confidence as he tossed the device at the knocked out Pokémon. Once it hit the ground, it shook three times until it stopped. Ethan ran up to it picking it up and showed it to Lyra.

"Alright, Hoothoot is mine!" He said in pride for catching his first Pokémon. Lyra walked up to him clapping in joy. "Nice catch, for a rookie." Ethan took the Poke Ball and spun it on his index finger. "I maybe a rookie now but I plan to be the very best; like no one ever was." Lyra just smiled as she reached into her bag. "I bet you will; here these are for you." He looked at her hands to see five Poke Balls.

"For me?" Lyra nodded her head in response. "I know you can get them at a Poke Mart but considered these as a going away gift." Ethan gave her a smile as he took the balls from her hand and put them in her bag. "Thanks a lot Lyra." Her cheeks turned pink as she gave him a whisper. "Your welcome; well I guess your leaving know huh?"

"Yeah, I have to hurry if I want to make it to Violet City before sun down; I'll see ya later Lyra." As Ethan turns to leave, Lyra grabs his hand causing him to stop and look at her. "Something wrong?" "Yeah, just one more thing." They stood there for a few seconds until Lyra gathered all her courage and pulled him closer, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. This caused Ethan to step back a bit in surprised with his hand on his cheek; his face becoming red. Lyra put her hands behind her back and stared at her feet; her face was just as red as Ethan's.

"That was for good luck." She said in a small voice. "Well, goodbye Ethan; take care." With that, Lyra turned towards New Bark and took of at full speed with Marill right on her tail. Ethan just stood watching her leave while still in shock. "Yeah, see ya." He spoke in a normal tone as he felt surprised but also a little happiness over what had just happened. He would've kept standing there if Cyndaquil didn't nudge his leg. Ethan snapped out of his day dream and looked at his little buddy.

"I'm alright Cyndaquil so let's go; we got a lot of ground to cover." "Cynda!" His little buddy squealed as the two of them took off. With a new Pokémon, Ethan was well on his way to starting his Pokémon journey. But he still had a long way to go as he may his way to the first Pokémon Gym in Violet City.

- That's the end of chapter 4; I hope you enjoy it. Originally I was going to end it with him reaching Violet City but this chapter was already getting too long so I decide to put it in the next chapter, which will come out as soon as possible. Before you ask let me tell you; yes Foresight does not work like that but it fits the situation, and yes the line that Ethan said was from the English opening of the first season of Pokémon I thought it would make a nice small joke. So until next time. . . Peace!


	5. Chapter 5

What it is? I'm back and I can finally make an update. I may also update my Ninja Gaiden fic if I am lucky. Also, I would like to give a shout out to Doof Evil Inc and Patattack for their reviews, you guys rock! ! So enjoy this chapter.

_Chapter 5: For Whom the Bellsprout Tolls_

"Hey you, over there!" Ethan turns around towards wear the voice called out as sees a young boy. He was wearing a yellow T-shirt with blue shorts and a blue cap on backwards just like Ethan. He then looks around to see if the boy was talking to someone else. "Who, me?" Ethan asks.

"Yeah you; you are a trainer aren't you?" the youngster asked as he looked at Ethan with anticipation. Ethan simply nodded his head as a response. With that the youngster grins and pulls out a Poke Ball. "Well in that case, I challenge you to a battle!" This leaves Ethan in shock.

"Now? Right off the bat?" He asked being a little surprised at being challenged that quick. "Of course, don't you know?" The youngster begins to explain to Ethan. "When two trainers meet eye to eye, it means they must battle!" Ethan just stood there as a bead of sweat fell from his head. 'He can not be serious.' He said in his head; but he ended up giving in by shaking his head and sighed. 'I guess it's to be expected when you are a trainer'.

"Alright then, if it's a battle you want it's a battle you'll get!" He finally spoke and got into position. Cyndaquil was about to take his place when stopped by Ethan's hand, signaling him to stay out of this fight. Instead Ethan grabbed a Poke Ball that was on his belt. "You got it! The name is Joey, prepare to get beat. Rattata I choose you!" He shouts as he unleashes his Mouse Pokémon ready to battle.

"Well I'm Ethan, and I'm planning on winning. Hoothoot, battle ready!" He responded as he released his own Pokémon. With that the battle commenced. At first it appeared to be even, but because of Hoothoot being a Flying type, he had the advantage over Rattata but that doesn't keep Joey from trying.

"Use Quick-Attack now!" Joey commanded as Rattata sped off. With a trail of white light behind it, Rattata charged at Hoothoot and hit it head on. While a little bit shook up, Hoothoot regained its balanced into the air. 'Man that Pokémon is fast.' Ethan though to himself. 'Well we'll just have to be faster.'

"Hoothoot, strike back with Tackle!" He ordered. "Keep up with Quick-Attack Rattata!" Joey countered. Even with Hoothoot's skill in the air it wasn't able to match with Rattata's speed; this caused it to be pummeled by Quick-Attacks. As the battle went on, Hoothoot was exhausted and having trouble staying in the air. Seeing this, Joey decided to finish this battle with one more blow.

"Alright Rattata, rap this up with one more Quick-Attack!" He shouted as his partner charges in for one last hit. Knowing that Hoothoot would not be able to take another hit, Ethan had to think hard and fast to turn this battle around. As Rattata drew close, one idea popped into his head; although it was risky it was the only thing he could think of.

"Hoothoot, dodge and use Tackle!" With what strength he possessed, Hoothoot was barely able to dodge attack and was able to get behind Rattata; and in doing so used Tackle at full force. Since Rattata was already moving at full speed, Hoothoot's Tackle did more damage and forcing Rattata down to the ground. When all the dust cleared, the two trainers saw that Rattata was unconscious meaning that the battle was over.

"Alright Hoothoot, you rock!" Ethan exclaimed as he gives his signature thumbs up to the Pokémon as he flies towards his trainers shoulder and chirps with glee. Cyndaquil jumps in joy and congratulates Hoothoot on a battle well won. Joey sighed in defeat as he returned Rattata to his Poke Ball.

"Thanks Rattata, take a good rest." Joey says as he put away the ball and walked towards Ethan. "That was a great battle Ethan" he says with a smile on his face as he brings his hand up to shake. After returning Hoothoot to its Poke Ball, he grabs Joey's hand and shakes. "Thanks, you put up a good fight though Joey; I thought you were going to win for a second." Joey points his head down to his feet feeling bashful from Ethan's compliment.

"Wow thanks." Joey goes into his pocket and pulls out a few bills which he hands to Ethan. "Here you go." Ethan looks at the money and then to the youngster in confusion.

"What is this?" This question caused Joey to look back at him confused as well. "It's your prize money; when you win a Pokémon battle, the loser hands over some cash to the victor." Surprised by this revelation, Ethan takes the money from the boy. "All trainers know about that rule." "Well I guess it's no surprise, I just became a trainer myself." Hearing this, Joey had a shocking expression on his face.

"No way, you just became a trainer?" Ethan got surprised by the small outburst but replied. "Yeah, I just got my first Pokémon yesterday." The youngster was once again surprised. "Whoa, and you are already a good trainer." It was now Ethan's turn to feel bashful from the compliment. "Well I still have a long way to go." "So are you going to go for the Johto League then?" Ethan replies as he puts his prize money way. "Yeah, I'm actually on my way to Violet City for my first gym battle."

"In that case," Joey begins as he turns to his left and points down the path. "If you go down this path and make a left when you get to the clearing you will reach Violet City." "Wow thanks a lot." Ethan said feeling glad he was close to his destination. "But you better be careful." The youngster warned. "There are more trainers that way and they are even stronger than me." Hearing this Ethan took the advice to consideration. "Thanks for the warning; I better get going." Just as he was about to leave, Joey stopped him.

"Um Ethan," Joey started to ask. "Before you go, can we exchange numbers?" Ethan looked at the boy with a confused look. "Exchange numbers?" He asked. "Yeah so we can keep in contact with each other just in case one of us wants a rematch, if you don't mind." Ethan thought over it and found it to be a good idea as he took out his Pokegear.

"Sure I don't mind." Joey smiled with glee as took out his own Pokegear and the two got the others number. With that done, Ethan makes his way towards Violet City with Cyndaquil right on his heels. "See ya Joey; I look forward to our rematch." He says as he walks off with his head looking backwards. Joey stays where he is and waves to Ethan.

"See ya Ethan; the next time we meet, I'll be stronger than before and good luck with your gym battle!" Joey exclaims as Ethan waves back at his new friend. When he was out of site, Ethan looks forward and dashes down the path. "Let's go Cyndaquil." He said before speeding off. "Quil!" was all Cyndaquil said as he ran after his trainer; the two of them could not wait for what lies ahead of them on their journey.

Continuing down the path, Ethan and Cyndaquil battled a few more trainers such as another youngster like Joey and a bug catcher. The bug catcher wasn't that hard since Ethan had a fire type and flying type with him. With these battles both of his Pokémon grew stronger, Hoothoot even learned Hypnosis; that made it easier to catch Pokémon. Speaking of that, Ethan had caught a few more on his way. He had a Caterpie, a Weedle, and was about to add a Ledyba to his growing collection.

"Use Tackle again Hoothoot!" Ethan ordered as the flying type slammed into the bug type. After shaking off the attack, Ledyba charged with a Tackle attack of its own; but Ethan was prepared. "Hoothoot, use Hypnosis!" Hoothoot's eyes glowed red and hypnotic waves came out towards Ledyba; once hit, Ledyba's eyes grew heavy and landed on the ground fast asleep. Ethan took this chance and grabbed a Poke Ball out of his bag.

"Go Poke Ball!" He shouted as the device was launched and hit the bug Pokémon. After being sucked in, it shakes and stops moving, signaling that it was caught. Ethan goes up and grabs the ball with a new Pokémon. "All right, I got a Ledyba now!" He exclaimed as he placed the Poke Ball on his belt with the others. Hoothoot flew up to him and landed on his shoulder. "Good job Hoothoot." Ethan said giving a thumbs up. "Hooo." Hoothoot chirped over the praise he was giving. Ethan began to walk again down the path to Violet City with Hoothoot still on his shoulder; he had returned Cyndaquil to its Poke Ball in order to give his little buddy a break and to spend some time with Hoothoot.

As he continued walking, Ethan glanced at his belt looking at the five Poke Balls he was carrying. 'I have room for one more capture on my belt so I better make the next catch count.' He thought to himself as he kept on walking. "Looks like I will have to get more Poke Balls and deposit my new captures in storage once we reach Violet City." "Hooo" Hoothoot replied while still on his shoulder. After saying that, Ethan thought back to earlier today when he stopped at the Pokémon Center in Cherrygrove and first discovered the Pokémon Storage System.

_Earlier Today_

_As Ethan made his way through Route 29 once again, he decided to catch some of the Pokémon he had fought the first time he came this way. He had captured a Pidgey, Rattata, and a Sentret; along with Cyndaquil and Hoothoot, Ethan now has five Pokémon. _

"_Wow, it's been only one day and I already have five Pokémon so far; not bad for a rookie trainer, right Cyndaquil?" "Quil" Cyndaquil replied agreeing with his trainer. "But," Ethan continued. "Since I can only carry six Pokémon at a time, I only have room for one more Pokémon; not only that what happens to the other Pokémon that I catch after the sixth slot if full?" He looks to Cyndaquil thinking his little buddy will give him some kind of answer. Cyndaquil just shrugged his shoulders telling his trainer he has no idea._

"_Oh well," Ethan said. "I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get to it." With that said, the two dashed towards Cherrygrove City. Once there, they make their way to the Pokémon Center to rest and heal. While waiting for his Pokémon to be healed, he chats with Nurse Joy for a little bit._

"_When you first came here yesterday, Cyndaquil was the only Pokémon you had with you; and now today you have five." Ethan replied to the nurse with a smile. "Yeah I've been pretty busy today; I'm starting my Pokémon journey today." Nurse Joy smiled herself hearing his answer. "Not bad for your first day huh?" Ethan blushes at Nurse Joy's compliment and Joy chuckles at his response. Shaking his blush away, he continues their conversation._

"_Yeah but I have only one slot left and then I can't carry anymore Pokémon." Ethan told her and Joy looked at him with a confused look. "Well why don't you store some Pokémon away so you will have more room?" Ethan_ _looked at the nurse with an equally confused look. "Huh?" Nurse Joy looks to her left and points to the PC's._

"_The Pokémon Storage System was created so that trainers can store their Pokémon while they carry six Pokémon; you can also switch Pokémon in your party with those that are stored." Ethan looks at her with surprise. "Really?" "Yep." Joy continues. "Not only that, but when you catch a Pokémon and you already have a full party it is automatically transported to storage." Ethan rubs the back of his head in wonder. "Well I guess I'll check it out then." Joy goes to the healing machine and grabs Ethan's Poke Balls handing them to the trainer. "Your Pokémon are fully healed, please come back when there are feeling tired." _

"_Okay, thanks Nurse Joy." Ethan waved to the nurse as he places the Poke Balls on his belt and heads towards the PC's. He noticed on the screen it was asking him to log on; so he logged in his name and lead him to another screen with three options. They were Bill's PC, Ethan's PC, and Exit. He knew that his PC allowed him to organize his mail, from experiences at home, but he wasn't sure about Bill's. Deciding to just find out, Ethan clicked it and told him that the Pokémon Storage System was accessed. The screen showed him that he had 20 boxes for storage and in each box 30 Pokémon could be stored. Ethan found this impressive storing that many Pokémon with ease. He also saw options for depositing withdrawing, and organizing Pokémon. He chose to deposit and it asked him to insert Poke Ball. To the left of the PC was a capsule machine with a space in it for a Poke Ball. Taking one from his belt, containing a Pidgey he caught earlier, he places in the machine. Clicking on deposit, the machine activates. The Poke Ball becomes surrounded with crackling energy and then becomes white itself. After a few seconds the ball dematerialized. Looking at the screen, Ethan saw a loading bar and when it finished, it showed him that there was one Pokémon stored in Box 1. From there, he decided to deposit the rest of his Pokémon except for Cyndaquil and Hoothoot. When he was done, he logged out and left the Pokémon center._

_Once he was outside, Ethan grabbed the Poke Ball with Cyndaquil and released his little buddy to walk with him as they made it to there next destination._

"I got to say," Ethan said out loud. "If it wasn't for the storage system, I would be carrying all of those Poke Balls everywhere I go." Hoothoot chirped as a reply as he rested on his trainers shoulder. As he continued down his path, Ethan looked to the sky and his mind began to wonder.

'I still wonder' Ethan thought to him self. 'Who is this "Bill" and what does he have to do with the Pokémon Storage System?' His thoughts came to a halt when Hoothoot pecked at his head.

"Oww!" he cried. "What did you do that for?" Wondering why his Pokémon just attacked his as he rubbed his head where he was pecked. Hoothoot then pointed into the direction in front of them. Looking in front of him he sees the reason for being pecked. What he saw was a small walking plant with a thin stem-like body and two root-like legs, two leaves sticking out from the middle, and a yellow bell-like head.

"Oh so that's why," he exclaims. "It's a Bellsprout." Going into his pocket he pulls out his Pokedex and scans the Pokémon before him.

"_Bellsprout: the Flower Pokémon. Even though its body is extremely skinny, it is blindingly fast when catching prey."_

"Hmm, that sounds cool." He puts away the device and looks to his shoulder where his Hoothoot is. "Alright then partner, time for another capture; battle ready Hoothoot," With that said, Hoothoot flies off his shoulder and moves towards Bellsprout ready to battle. Hearing the commotion, the Flower Pokémon turns to see Hoothoot fly towards him, and moves into a battle position as well.

"Alright Hoothoot, lets go with a Tackle attack." Hoothoot charges straight attack at Bellsprout only for him to flip out the way of the attack. Turning around, Hoothoot charges at the Grass type again only for it to keep dodging out the way. 'That Bellsprout is very flexible.' Ethan said to himself as he watched the Pokémon evading Hoothoot.

'That just makes me want to catch it even more.' He thought with a glint in his eye. "Alright Hoothoot, use Hypnosis and put Bellsprout to sleep." With glowing red eyes Hoothoot began to emit hypnotic waves but before they could take affect, a slender green vine shot out from under Bellsprout's leaf and smacked into Hoothoot causing it to fall. But before hitting the ground, Hoothoot regain its balance and flew back into the air ready to continue.

"Man that Vine Whip is fast." Ethan commented, amazed at Bellsprout's speed and power; but it only made him more excited. "Alright Hoothoot, Tackle attack again and keep it up; watch out for that Vine Whip as well."

With that, Hoothoot commenced with the command. Using it's speed, Hoothoot would go in with Tackle and hit Bellsprout dead on; Bellsprout would try to hit with its Vine Whip but would miss every time. Ethan's hit and run technique was working and starting to wear down Bellsprout. "Alright Hoothoot once one Tackle and Bellsprout is ours." Ethan commanded as Hoothoot charged one last time to finish this battle. But with the last of its strength, Bellsprout launches one last Vine Whip at Hoothoot; but instead of striking it wrapped around Hoothoot's leg stopping its attack.

Catching Hoothoot by surprise, Bellsprout begins to unleash another Vine Whip and begins to whip Hoothoot relentlessly. Ethan could only watch as his Pokémon is continuously whipped. "Hold on Hoothoot, I'll think of something!" He shouted as he tried to think of a solution.

'Even if Vine Whip is a Grass type move and Hoothoot is a Flying type, it's still doing some damage; and if this keeps up, Hoothoot will be knocked out in no time.' Ethan thought as Bellsprout held on to Hoothoot with one vine and striking with another one while staying in place; suddenly an idea came to him.

"Hey wait." Ethan thought. "Bellsprout can't move either while holding and attacking, which means there's still a chance." He then shouted his plan to his Pokémon.

"Hoothoot, grab on to Bellsprout's vine and fly into the air!" Hearing that, Hoothoot grabbed onto the vine that was hitting him with its talons and began to fly straight up. Surprised by this Bellsprout tried to pull in Hoothoot but was pulled up him self into the air until Hoothoot was high enough. "Now Hoothoot, slam Bellsprout down to the ground." Right on cue, Hoothoot flew straight back down with Bellsprout behind him; before hitting the ground, Hoothoot pulled up while Bellsprout hit the ground hard causing the vines to re-track back where they came from. Bellsprout was now lying down on the ground straining to get back up.

"Thanks Hoothoot, I'll take it from here." Ethan said as he reached for his last Poke Ball.

"Poke Ball Go!" He exclaimed as he tossed the device at the barely conscious wild Pokémon hitting its mark. Once trapped inside, the Poke Ball fell to the ground and started to twitch until it stopped. Ethan went and picked up his new Pokémon.

"Alright," Ethan held the Poke Ball into the air. "Bellsprout is mine!" Hoothoot flew to Ethan's shoulder and chirped in happiness over its victory. Ethan brought his hand up and petted his flying friend. "Good job Hoothoot, you deserve a long rest." With that, Hoothoot was returned to its Poke Ball. He then took Bellsprout's Poke Ball and released the Pokémon inside. Bellsprout was looking exhausted from its battle; its head was drooping and was breathing heavenly. Ethan kneeled down while going into his bag and pulled out a potion, and after spraying a bit Bellsprout lifted its head up and looked healthy again. Ethan smiled and petted the Grass type.

"You're great fighter Bellsprout," He complimented his new friend. "Let's you and I get along on this journey ok?" Ethan extended his hand to Bellsprout. Bellsprout looked that the out stretch hand for a second, eventually, Bellsprout smiled and extended his leaf and the two shook hands . . . or hand and leaf . . . or . . . you know what, they just shook on it. With that done, Ethan continued down the path he was on with Bellsprout right behind him.

Along the way Ethan came across more wild Pokémon and another trainer in which were all defeated by his newly caught Bellsprout. After a few minutes, they came to the outskirts of their destination. Ethan goes up to a sign close to them and reads it.

**Violet City: The City of Nostalgic Scents.**

Violet City was a beautiful and large city, though not as large as other but it was still pretty big. The whole city looked like an old village that was surrounded by trees, even the Pokémon Center and Poke Mart didn't look like the others; they matched with the style of the town. To the north there was small lake, and even beyond that was a tower that looked like a tall pagoda. For a second, Ethan thought it was wobbling. Shaking that thought aside, he decides to go the Pokémon Center. Once inside he made his way the counter only to be greeted by Nurse Joy, just like the one from Cherrygrove City.

"Hello there, do your Pokémon need healing?" The nurse asked with her usual caring smile. Ethan was at first surprised at seeing Joy here since, you know, she was in Cherrygrove before and now she's here and before him no less. Putting that thought aside for the moment, he gives his Pokémon to her to heal. While she places the Poke Balls in the healing machine, Ethan works up the courage to ask the question that's been at the top of his head.

"Umm, Nurse Joy?" The nurse turns around to answer the shy voice. "Yes?" She says in her sweet voice. "Weren't you at Cherrygrove's Pokémon Center?" Ethan asks her only to get a giggle out of the nurse.

"Actually," the nurse replied. "That is my sister in Cherrygrove." His eyes grew wide after hearing that causing her to giggle even more. "Your sister?" Nurse Joy then goes under the counter and pulls out a photograph. "All of us are related and each city or town with a Pokémon Center has a Joy there as a nurse." Taking the photo from Joy, Ethan looks at it only to see a group of Nurse Joys standing together, al of them looking alike.

"To tell you the truth," she continues. "The Joy in Cherrygrove is my younger sister." This caused Ethan to be even more surprised. "Younger sister?" He looks at the nurse and then thinks back to the nurse in Cherrygrove. "But you guy look exactly alike." This causes Joy to giggle some more and to place a hand over her mouth. "It's true that we all look alike but there are differences between us that are easy to see." The healing machine beeps and Nurse Joy goes to check on it. Ethan was about to ask her another question but decides to drop it.

'You know what Ethan, forget it; it's just too confusing to figure out.' Ethan says as Nurse Joy returns his now fully restored Pokémon and waves him goodbye. As Ethan waves back he makes his way to the PC; he then deposits the new Pokémon he caught today except for Bellsprout. With that done Ethan leaves the center.

Once outside, Ethan releases Cyndaquil and the two walk around the city taking in the sites. As he made his way down south, he notices a path and decides to follow it. It takes him and Cyndaquil to an entrance near the forest that looks like another route. He tries to go down the route but is stopped by and man.

"Wait up! What's the hurry?" The man exclaims as Ethan is caught by surprise. "Umm I'm just checking out this route." Ethan says as the man moves forward causing Ethan to move back. "Have you been to the Violet Gym?" He asked and Ethan simply shook his head. "You can test your Pokémon and yourself there; it's a rite of passage for all trainers." He then points in the direction Ethan just came from. "I suggest that you challenge the gym first before going down this route." Ethan looks in that direction and just decides to head back.

"Well I did come here to get my badge so I should challenge the gym while I'm here" Cyndaquil squealed in response to its trainer. Making their way to the center of the city, they came across what looked like a school. Moving to a sign in front of the building it read.

**Pokémon School: Earl will show you all there is to Pokémon.**

"Hmm, a school on Pokémon huh? I guess it wouldn't hurt to pick up some tips." Ethan said to himself and decides to walk in. Inside, he saw a few school kids; some were sitting at their desks, some were standing around the room talking to others. As he walked into the classroom further, a man apparently appears twirling around like a ballerina. We looked a little hefty, balding at the top of his head a little bit, and had a curly mustache; he was also wearing a black suit with a pink button-up shirt and suspenders.

"Hello there young man; are you a Pokémon trainer?" The man asked giving Ethan the creeps. "Yeah, I'm Ethan; I became a trainer yesterday and started my journey today." Then the man twirled around with glee as he stopped and held his arms out. "Well hello Ethan; I'm Earl and welcome to my Pokémon School. It is here we introduce others into the world of Pokémon no matter what age. While you're here you can learn some things on Pokémon to help you on your journey." Ethan nodded his head as he watched Earl twirl away, leaving both Ethan and Cyndaquil confused.

"Well. . . That was weird." Ethan commented as Cyndaquil shook his head in agreement. None the least, he took Earl's advice and talked to some of the students. One told him about different berries and their affects and another told him about Pokémon abilities and how they work. As he came to the blackboard, Ethan saw it had notes on status effects. After looking over the notes he decides to take his leave of the school. Earl appears again by twirling in front of Ethan, freaking out the boy again.

"Leaving already?" He asks as Ethan gives his reply. "Yeah, I'm gonna go train a little bit to get ready for my gym battle." Earl twirls once again and arms wide open. "Well if that's the case, you should go to Sprout Tower." "Sprout Tower?" Ethan asked. "Yes, it's a tower filled with monks who train in the ways of Pokémon; it's a good place for new trainers to train." Thinking this over, Ethan considered this a good idea and decides to go for it. "That sounds good, I'll try it." "Splendid, Then I wish you good luck; farewell until next time." Earl said as he twirls away for the last time, leaving Ethan and Cyndaquil confused once again.

"Man, the people I meet on this journey just keep getting weirder and weirder." Ethan said as Cyndaquil agreed as well. They take their leave of the school and head towards Sprout Tower. Heading north, he comes to the small lake and crosses the bridge to the tower. Ethan pushes the sliding door to the right and walks in with Cyndaquil behind him.

The inside of the tower was amazing; the design had the look of an old temple. In the middle of the room were two statues of a Bellsprout and in between those was a long wooden pillar that was moving slightly around. Both Ethan and Cyndaquil stared at the pillar mesmerized by its movement until Ethan can to an astonishing conclusion.

"That pillar almost looks like. . ." "Like a giant Bellsprout right?" Looking around to find that voice, Ethan was greeted by a man dressed in monks clothes, probably one of the monks that's suppose to train here. Ethan nodded his head and monk chuckled, he moved closer and held his hand towards the pillar.

"The pillar in the center acts as a support for this tower's structure, and even protects it from sudden earthquakes. This tower is dedicated to the gentle and peaceful nature of Bellsprout; some say this main swaying pillar was, in fact, once a 100-foot-tall Bellsprout."

"Really?" Ethan asked in wonder; the monk simply chuckled. "Maybe, maybe not, I'll let you decide on your own." He came up to Ethan and places his hand on his shoulder. "So, you have come to train?" "Yes I heard this place was great for training Pokémon." The monk then pointed to a set of stairs in the right corner in the room.

"Those stairs right there lead to the upper level where the rest of us monks await to battle, and once you reach the top you can challenge the Elder, Li; if you defeat him, he will give a special prize." Ethan looks at the set of stair and puts on a determined face.

"Okay, you ready Cyndaquil?" He asks his partner who nods his head and jumps onto his trainers head. Ethan then charges to the stairs as the monk watches him with delight.

"That boy has a lot of heart, and truly cares for his Pokémon." He says as he turns his back and walks away. "While that boy who came before him had a strong spirit, but is cold to his Pokémon." He then begins to wonder about the two boys. "They're like the opposites of a coin; it makes me wonder how their journeys will end." He then goes off to his duties.

Has he made his way upstairs, Ethan come across the other monks. Each one challenges him and each once he accepted. All the monks pretty much have the same Pokémon. They each have a Bellsprout; some had just one while others had more, a few even had a Hoothoot in their party. No matter what the team were Ethan and his Pokémon won in the end. Both having the type advantage, Cyndaquil and Hoothoot won their matches easily; while Bellsprout had some trouble, being a Grass-type, he still made it in the end. After each victory, the monks would congratulate him and pass on some of their wisdom.

As Ethan went higher, the monks got stronger but that made high battle harder. As he was on the second to the top floor, making his way to the stairs, he heard a rumbling from the floor above him.

"What the heck was that?" He wondered. "Sounds like a battle; I guess someone made it before me." Putting that thought aside for the moment, Ethan makes his way up the stairs. As he reached the top floor he came across three more monks; they were tougher than the others, but Ethan won in the end. Moving ahead, he comes to the pillar in the middle of the floor. Looking past it, he saw two people; one looked like a monk but older with a long white beard, and the other a young trainer with familiar red hair.

"Looks like the battle I heard is over." Ethan said as he saw the monk kneeling on the floor with one knee. He then rises off the floor and walks to the trainer.

"You showed us what you've got, and it is indeed good. . ." The older monk spoke as he held out what looked like a CD case with a disc inside. "Take this Technical Machine."

"However," he warned. "You should care more about your Pokémon; the way you treat your Pokémon can be too harsh. . . Remember, Pokémon are not tools of war. " The trainer ignored the monk's words of wisdom and snatched the disc from him and walked away. Looking at his face, Ethan realized that it was Silver, the boy who took the Totodile from Professor Elm's lab and who he had his first trainer battle with. He then made his way to the boy to give him a piece of his mind.

"Silver!" he exclaimed catching the red heads attention. Silver looks up to see Ethan and simply frowns at him. "Oh it's you, the boy from New Bark." He said, not really caring; this just made Ethan grit his teeth in anger. He then points a finger at him.

"Return the Pokémon you stole from the Professor!" Silver simply looks at Ethan and shows him the Poke Ball with Totodile. "I did not steal it," he began to explain. "I took it for myself; a Pokémon like this belongs to a strong trainer, not a weakling." He then looks down at Cyndaquil and smirks at him. "Although you do seem adequate enough to use that Pokémon." This just made Ethan even madder.

"Strength has nothing to do with it!" He shouted. "Cyndaquil chose me because he trusts me and I trust him." Silver just scoffed at this idea. "Whatever, what matters is that Totodile is mine and that is all." The two just stared at each other for a few seconds; Ethan calms down and tries to change the subject.

"So I can guess you won your battle huh?" Silver just looked to the side, not bothering to look at Ethan while he spoke. ". . .Humph! He calls himself the Elder, but he was no match for me." He then turns his head and looks at Ethan. "Sure enough, those who lecture how you should be "nice" to Pokémon. . . they can not defeat me." Silver begins to walk off as stops so that he and Ethan are side by side.

"All I care about are strong Pokémon that win every time." He tells Ethan before walking towards the stairs. "The rest of them don't mean anything to me." Ethan just watches the red-head walk off leaving him angry at how the boy treats Pokémon and others. He was about to follow him and tell him off but Cyndaquil stopped him by pulling his leg. Ethan calms down and kneels closer to his partner and pets him with a smile. "Thanks Cyndaquil, we'll worry about him some other time." Getting back on his feet, the two walk towards the elder. Ethan stops half way and waits to hear from the old man. The Elder then looks at Ethan and bows to him; Ethan, showing respects, bows as well.

"So good of you to come here," The Elder spoke. "Sprout Tower is a place of training. People and Pokémon test their bonds to build a brighter future, and I am the final test." The Elder pulled out a Poke Ball and took a stance. Like wise, Ethan took a similar stance sending Cyndaquil up to fight. "Ok, I accept your test; Cyndaquil, battle ready!" Cyndaquil readied itself setting its back ablaze. The Elder smirked as he prepared to release his own Pokémon. "Allow me to check the ties between you and your Pokémon!"

With that the battle commenced when the Elder brought out his Bellsprout. The first battle was pretty easy; as fast as Bellsprout's Vine Whip was, it was not fast enough to keep up with the just as fast Cyndaquil. Using a combination of Smokescreen and Ember, Bellsprout was knocked out. Cyndaquil squealed in joy and Ethan gave his partner a thumbs. The Elder smiled and returned his Pokémon for a good rest. He reached for another Poke Ball bringing out a Hoothoot. Ethan brought back Cyndaquil and send out his own Hoothoot, thus commencing an air battle.

Being more experienced, the Elder's Hoothoot had the advantage but Ethan's wasn't giving up so easily. When they got close through a colliding Tackle attack Ethan's Hoothoot tried to use Hypnosis but it was unaffected because of the special ability Insomnia which keeps a Pokémon from falling asleep through status effects. In the end, surprisingly, Ethan's Hoothoot won in the end through determination as the Elder's Hoothoot fell to the ground. With the last of its strength Hoothoot flew into the arms of Ethan, who congratulated his flying friend and used a potion on him before returning him to its Poke Ball the Elder smiled at this as he got out his last Pokémon which was another Bellsprout. For the final battle Ethan brings out his Bellsprout for another mirror battle.

The battle was pretty much a stalemate both Bellsprout's were using Vine Whip, in which they either missed their target or was blocked by the opposing Vine Whip. In the end their vines were entangled with each other and were caught in deadlock. Thinking back to when he first caught Bellsprout Ethan had the Grass-type reel in the opponent and started to swing it around. Bellsprout then threw the Elder's Bellsprout who flew and hit the wall behind the Elder. Sliding down the wall the Bellsprout touched the ground unconscious ending the battle.

"Alright Bellsprout, you rock and rule!" Ethan says with his signature thumbs up as Bellsprout smiled and using one of its vine to give its trainer a high five before going insides it's Poke Ball. The Elder smile at Ethan a he returned his friend into its Poke Ball for a good rest. "Ah, excellent." The Elder said as he walked up to Ethan.

"Hmm. . . The way you battle is quite elegant; you should be able to stand up to Falkner, the Gym Leader." The Elder told Ethan as he bows to him; in return Ethan bows back.

"Thank you sir, it was an honor to battle you." The Elder then handed him what look like a disc similar to what Silver was given. "And you should be able to make good use of this." Ethan takes the disc and examines it. "What is this?" He asks. "It is a Technical Machine, or TM, called Flash; take it with you." Looking at the disc he saw it said it said TM70. Ethan had heard of these TM's before; there are said to be a special item that allows a Pokémon to learn a move that in normally impossible for them.

"When a Pokémon learns Flash, you can illuminate a cave no matter how dark they may be; you can even try it on Bellsprout, for example." Finding it useful, Ethan takes the TM and puts it away in his bag where there is a special pocket for them. "I hope you learn and grow from your journey." The Elder said before Ethan left the room. As they made their way down the stairs, Ethan began to chat with Cyndaquil.

"I got to say buddy, the Elder was a strong opponent, maybe even stronger then silver was back then." Cyndaquil nodded in response. "I guess what they say is true, there is always someone stronger then you." Stopping on the stairs with his hands behind his head and thinks; Cyndaquil stops behind him and looks at his trainer. Ethan looks at his partner, only to kneel down and pet him. "But that's okay, the stronger the opponent the stronger we will get; if we lose, then we'll get back up, train harder and battle until we win, right buddy." "Cynda!" Cyndaquil cries at he smiles to its trainer. Ethan then places his little buddy and places him on top of his head. Making their way to the bottom of the tower to outside, Ethan realized that it was dark outside; apparently he was in that tower for a long time. Figuring that it was too late to have a Gym battle, Ethan decided to save it for tomorrow.

So Ethan, with Cyndaquil still on his head, made his way to the Pokémon Center in order to heal his team, feed their stomachs, and rest for tomorrow keeping the memories of their day including the sites they saw, the fun they had, and the lessons they learned.

So there you readers, god damn this was a long chapter. I have a feeling later chapters will be longer than this. Let's get some things out the way you are probably wondering. First, some of the battles in the Sprout Tower were going to be more detailed but this chapter was going so long I wanted to finish it as soon as possible. In later chapters I'll probably do the same thing and only show important battles in such detail. Also for those who played the games know that before you enter Violet City you meet the other character but I thought it was too soon for Ethan and Lyra to meet up. I'm hoping to get another chapter out before the year is done so until next time. . . Peace! Also yes I'm still doing my Ninja Gaiden fanfic and I will post a chapter for that soon.


End file.
